Youth Wars Part II: Ashes of the Empire
by Exar Sunrider
Summary: A new adventure lies ahead for Aang, Exar, and Jo, as they recover from their gruesome battle with Erk. The Republic gains information of an artifact found in the Outer Rim, and the team is sent to retrieve it, with a little help; but they don't realize that their lives are about to get a little more interesting.
1. Chapter 1

**Youth Wars Part II: Ashes Of The Empire**

 _Prologue_

Down in the dark part of Coruscant, the M3-A Scyk Fighter soared across the night sky. Erk stealthily traversed the ship over the nighttime-struck town. He headed towards a tall building, which had its docking bay doors opened for Erk to land. Erk opened the ramp to his ship and stepped down, and met Jayko, in full armor, in the building.

"Well, I had just finished packing for our mission to find Galen Marek, to find our objective being changed. What's with the sudden change of plan?" Erk asked as he and Jayko started walking down the bay.

"The master has seen that you did not complete your task to kill the Jedi, and he is very disappointed. And due to that, he's given us an alternate route for our mission." Jayko replied. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not too fond of this either."

"I may not have killed the Jedi, but I have greatly damaged them. They may not be dead, but their duties will be delayed." Erk informed as they reached the end of the hall.

"But you didn't kill them. Why? What kept you from finishing the mission?" Jayko asked as he opened the door and they walked across the hall into Jayko's private conference room. The room was small, like an office, but it had a round table with four chairs around it.

"Were you held back? Did one of the Jedi suddenly become strong enough to overcome you?" Jayko asked as he and Erk each sat in one of the chairs.

"No." Erk replied, "They had reinforcements. They arrived _**just**_ as I was about to strike them down." Erk drew his pointer finger and thumb close together to emphasise.

"There are more ways to kill people. What happened to using the force?" Jayko asked.

"Their masters arrived, and if there's anything I know about them, it's that I can't beat them head-on. Five Jedi against one sith. How would you handle it?" Erk asked.

"Well I certainly wouldn't consider going alone. What about the stormtroopers that were being produced? Why didn't you grab some of those?" Jayko asked.

"There weren't enough produced to back me up. They were all on Kamino dealing with some government officials." Erk replied.

"What happened to the production?" Jayko asked. That stopped Erk in his tracks.

 _'The Republic_ _ **was**_ _on Kamino. They did find out about the production. But did they shut it down? If so,_ _ **how**_ _?'_ Erk was asking himself these questions for a few seconds.

'Well?" Jayko pushed on.

"I... I don't actually know." Erk finally answered.

"Well if the Republic is on our trail, then we need to cut them off. I'm sending you to Kamino to deal with any Republic forces before they catch on to anything." Jayko said, standing up and starting to leave.

"By myself?" Erk asked. Jayko stopped. "Think about that for a second. I couldn't kill three Jedi alone. So how could I take on an entire force on a nearly remote system?" Erk asked with a slightly teasing tone.

"Don't end up saying anything you'll regret. I can send you with some backup if it'll make you feel better." Jayko said as Erk got up and followed him down the hall and into another docking bay, where several modified TIE Fighters sat on the sides, and TIE pilots crawled the area.

"This will be the start of a new age in the galaxy. No more Republics. No more resistance. The Empire will rise again." Jayko said with pride and confidence. "My father would be proud if he was here with me." He then said with some discomfort.

"Your father? Didn't you tell me he's with the Republic now?" Erk asked.

"Yes." Jayko replied hesitantly, looking down and clenching his fists.

"We will strike such a huge blow against the Republic, that it will go down in history." Erk said, placing his hand on Jayko's shoulder. "Maybe your father will reconsider his side."

"Time will only tell. Go to Kamino, take whatever backup you may need, and I will commense with the assault here." Jayko said.

"Is it really time for that?" Erk asked.

"Yes. Every ship is ready, and our soldiers are getting prepared as we speak." Jayko replied.

"Well, you may meet your father again, sooner rather than later." Erk said, putting his hand forward. Jayko put his hand atop of Erk's, and they said in unison, "For the Empire."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Exar wrapped bandages around his new mechanical right arm, moving his fingers around and making sure it was completely functional. He spread his fingers out, clenched his fist, then brought his fingers up one by one. _'One more thing.'_ He thought. He looked over to a drawer -containing a blanket- along the wall, and used the force with his left hand to open it. He then outstretched his right arm, closed his eyes, and tried lifting the blanket out. It was barely lifting out. He looked up at it, got a little frustrated, and tried harder. He grit his teeth and, all of a sudden, started sweating.

 _ **SLICE**_

 _ **BOOM**_

The memories of the fight with Erk suddenly flashed in his head. He lost focused and dropped the blanket from the air. He swept his hand up to his new cybernetic right eye, regaining the feeling of losing his real one. He jerked up and looked around, the light seeming to dim in every corner. His skin crawled at every sound he heard, whether it was electricity buzzing through the lights on the ceiling, or the air conditioner acting up.

The med-bay door opened, and Exar jumped out of his skin, activated his lightsaber, and pointed it at the intruder.

"Woah, calm down." Aang spoke up, throwing two hands in the air.

Exar deactivated his lightsaber and put it back on his belt. "What?" He asked, knowing there was probably a reason for his presence.

"You doing alright? You seem a little frightened." Aang asked, sitting down.

"The fight left its scars on all of us. At least I'm sure. _You_ got out okay." Exar said, mixing a sarcastic and serious tone, while gesturing towards him.

"Not completely. That magik ball he threw at me gave me quite a concussion. It's died down a little since the-"

"Hold on, what? He hit you with a magik ball?" Exar recoiled.

"Yeah, I-"

" _Heceowa_ hit me with one, and _temporarily_ turned me dark." Exar said a little cautiously.

"Are all magik balls the same?" Aang asked.

"No but I should make sure he didn't tack you with anything." Exar answered, standing in front of Aang. He placed both his hands on the side of Aang's head, 'around the brain'. He probed his brain for any dark-force concussion, and luckily sensed nothing.

"I didn't sense anything." Exar said.

"Anyway, um... Erk."

"What about him?"

"Why didn't you tell us about him?"

"I'm sure I told you that already."

"That, you did. But what _I_ want to know is why you didn't tell us when you _met_ us, or when we were assigned to find out about the sith."

Exar turned away to think about that. He recalled that time Aang pointed out, and remembered the events. "To be honest, I had a lost going on with me back then. I _wanted_ to tell you guys, but the opportunity never came. When I thought about it, none of you guys were there, and I couldn't tell you, and when I _might've_ been able to, I ended up _forgetting_ about it."

"Well now that we have a decent amount of information about him, is there anything else about him we should know?"

Exar leaned against the pale white wall and pondered that for a moment. "Well, we know his powers. We know _I_ knew him and knew..."

"What?" Aang started getting suspicious at the silence.

"He might not be alone. Back on the secret catacombs on Tatooine, uh-" Exar stuttered a little. "He wasn't the only one I knew. _We_ , had friends."

"What kind of friends?" Aang asked with a monotone, and an unclear expression.

"Friends like him. They have similar powers, but, I don't know if they're alive still."

"Well Erk is still alive, and if they were friends, I'm sure Erk would ensure their safety."

"Well he would certainly try. After we completed our training in our first few years, there was a purge. Everyone was to evacuate, and every _thing_ was to be evacuated. That's why we barely saw anything when we visited."

"I assume you, Erk, and possibly those friends of his, are the only survivors of that purge?"

"Yes. We're the only ones." Exar answered, slightly distressed.

"Sorry for any losses."

"Thanks. I-" Exar's gaze moved upwards.

"What?" Aang asked, recognizing the body language.

"Loss."

"What is it?"

"Did we report everything on our mission to Dathomir II?"

"Is there something we forgot?"

"Most likely. It's very serious. Erk almost killed me, but some kind of wraith came along somehow and saved me."

"Though it doesn't make much sense to me, I'm inclined to _agree_ that's serious."

"Soon, we're going to have to come clear with that. Maybe I'll tell the masters after a mission. You know, to get in the right setting."

"Good. Everything, uh, fully functional?" Aang asked, motioning twoards Exar's eye and arm.

"Uh, yeah." Exar replied, looking at his arm, "Though the force ain't strong with this one." He waved his arm around a little. "Speaking of fuctional-"

"Way ahead of you. The masters and Ephraim are waiting for us there." Aang interrupted, then saw Exar's expression as he did. "Sorry."

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Exar said with an exaggrated tough tone. "Is Jo stable?" He asked with a regular tone.

"Life is sustainable, but it may be hard keeping it that way once we remove him from the bacta tank." Aang replied.

"Well, we gotta do what we gotta do. And we gotta do it _fast_." Exar added as they entered the room where Jo was contained in a bacta tank. Seeing about half of him was quite unsettling, but knowing he was still alive was relieving.

"How is he?" Exar asked Ephraim.

"He's holding out." Ephraim worriedly replied.

"We ready for the procedure, master?" Exar then asked Rye.

"We are." Rye replied.

Jo was resting his back in a chair after proper medical procedures were done. He was fitted with a new, polished robotic half.

 **(See the chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the picture to be seen here)**

"Life is sustained. Limbs are fully functional, head's working properly. I think he's all good." Erickson said, relieving the team of their burden.

"I think we saved the readers' worry of losing me by adding the time skip a few spaces up." Jo said.

...

"Aaaaand his personality's still intact." Erickson added, looking at Ephraim.

"That's **not** how it **works**. Protocol droids are available if you want a less confusing being." Ephraim replied.

"You feeling okay, Jo?" Rye asked, bending down to face Jo.

...

"Yeah." Jo replied. He put his arms up and tried activating his lightwhips, but nothing appeared. He frowned and opened the two small, hard-to-see panels under his wrists and looked inside to see no crystals. "Where're my crystals?"

"Oh! Sorry. Forgot about that." Rye said, pulling a box from his cloak and handing it to Jo.

Jo opened the box and set it in front of him. He used the force to lift his orange crystals and set them in his arms. He then closed them and let out his lightwhips. "Yep. Fully functional." Then withdrew his lightwhips. He stood and stretched his arms and legs.

"Now, we have a meeting with the Lieutenant-Governor to attend." Rye said, motioning towards the door. "She'll be pleased to hear that we're alright."

The team exited the shuttle in Kashyyyk's forest and strolled their way to the base. Exar and Jo took a deep breath and remembered the feeling of being outside, as they hadn't been outside for over a day.

They entered the meeting room, to be greeted by Lieutenant Governor Calista Calfan and a personal entourage of Republic guards and one of the masters of the new Jedi Council.

"I must say that I'm pleased to see your team in such good shape. And in such little time." Calista greeted with a smile.

"That's why we're the best around, your honor." Aang joked.

"What was it you wanted to discuss?" Rye asked as he, Erickson, and Ephraim sat down.

"With the results of your team's mission to defeat the sith, Ephraim and I have talked to the Senate, and we've all agreed to make some, _modifications_ , to the team."

The team leaders traded glances, then Rye asked, "What kind of modifications?"

"Because of the conditions the sith has left your team in, we have all been concerned with how much more they can accomplish. We're giving you a choice to either have your team replaced and have them work for the government, full-time. Or, ha, this is an obvious choice, add a supervisor to your Jedi. He will guide them on missions when you guys are elsewhere."

"Who is it you want to supervize?"

"My friend, and hopefully yours, Jedi Master Viran Fexive." Calista motioned to her Jedi guard.

"Nice to see you two, Rye and Erickson." Viran said. Jedi Master Viran was an adult male Jedi, average height and build. He had some light facial hair around his mouth and a pair of two scars under his right eye. He bore the traditional clothing of a Jedi, and wore his hood often.

"But along with this, your team is relieved from duty _until further notice_." Calista said.

"There's always a catch." Exar whispered.

"She said 'until further notice'." Aang replied. "It's good for us to recover."

"I've already recovered." Exar replied.

"Something you'd like to say?" Rye asked.

"Well, kinda. We're not _incapable_ of anything right now." Exar said with a slightly raised voice.

"Don't do anything stupid." Aang said, putting his hands up.

"But there's nothing for us to do right now." Rye said.

Exar relaxed himself only slightly. He wasn't comfortable with that kind of situation happening. Blurting something out and having it turn out to sound foolish.

"Forgive him, he's kinda rough around the edges." Erickson said.

"Well we should be going into a more confidential topic now, Master Rye, would you?..." She motioned towards the team.

"Yes, your honor." Rye faced the team. "You guys just go relax for now."

The team nodded in response and started their way out the door. A Republic messanger came running through with a datapad, looking panicked. The team just let him through and kept going.

"What's going on?" Calista asked, standing up.

"We've received notification that a fleet is attacking the Capitol on Coruscant."

"What kind of fleet?" Calista asked, looking at the datapad.

"That's what's worrying everyone. It's... Imperial." The messanger said, making Aang stop _cold_ in his tracks, followed by Jo and Exar.

"Imperial fleet?" Aang asked, now getting worried.

The leaders only turned to face them.

"Your honor, if I may?" Exar asked.

"You may."

"We're very experienced in dealing with forces like that. Let us go take care of it." Exar said.

"You guys still need to recover." Rye said.

"With all due respect, we are recovered, and need I remind you that I'm a veteran from the war of the rebellion against the Empire." Aang piped up.

"Several Jedi and the Republic against one fleet. It won't be _that_ bad." Exar said.

"It'll be a walk in the park." Aang added.

"Mustn't be a very good park." Jo mumbled.

"I'm not against you, just take a fleet of ours and you three, and Viran will take care of it."

"Yes! We won't let you down." Exar said to the leaders with glee. The team went onto the landing platform and quickly hopped into their starfighters. They then noticed Viran's official government fighter parked next to theirs. It was similar to that of a _Nimbus_ -Class V-Wing starfighter. It looked as though it had recently received a new paint job. The red and gray paint shined on the metal.

"I gotta say, I kinda like how they're going old-school." Aang said. Viran came by and hopped into his V-Wing and they all took off. Aang and Jo attached their fighters to Exar's and they jumped into hyperspace to Coruscant shortly after Viran made the jump himself.

"We're back in business." Exar said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

The four Jedi exited hyperspace a trip later, with Coruscant in their sight. Thankfully, no Imperial ships were present in the sector. Now they needed to gather a fleet in time for the assault.

" _They could be here any minute, how do we get a fleet by our side anytime soon_?" Exar commed Viran.

" _Kid, you forget I'm an official Jedi Master? I'm with the Republic. They'll listen to me_." Viran replied.

At the same moment, the head of the NRSB **(New Republic Security Bureau)** , Verena Dewan, was reading over security reports of recent criminal activity in her office. Verena was a female Tognath, one of many looked up to by citizens the citizens of Coruscant. She wore a similar Republic uniform as Ephraim's, only the security armor made the uniform more imposing. She immediately set her reports down and answered her comm when Viran contacted.

"Head of the NSRB, who is this?" Verena asked. She had a deep and somewhat raspy voice due to her breathing apparatus, which also acted as a translator.

" _Jedi Master Viran Fexive, Coruscant needs your help_."

"What is it?"

" _We've had reported sightings of Imperial-looking vehicles coming Coruscant's way. A fleet. The Lieutenant Governor has requested we use one of our fleets to take care of it_."

"Which fleet?"

" _The Third Fleet should be enough_."

"Good. We don't have much to spare after our recent discovery on Kamino. Be sure that you make the fleet efficient. We can't afford to watse it."

" _Understood_."

Just before Verena was about to end the conversation, she heard the sound of ships exiting hyperspace in the background of the comm system.

"What was that?"

" _ **They're here**_. _ **Get the fleet now**_!"

"Right away!" Verena dashed out of her office and sped all the way to the Third Fleet's hangar bay. Several X and V-Wings were parked everywhere, and the pilots were there with them, luckily. " **Everyone**! **Coruscant is under attack**! **Get in your fighters and move**!" Verena shouted.

"Yes ma'am!" They all replied and quickly got into their fighters. A moment later, the hangar was evacuated. When the ships left the hangar, the loud creaking sound of huge metal doors came to her ears. She moved to the edge of the hangar and looked to the ground outside to see the MC75 and MC80 cruisers rising from underground. She saw as they slowly ascended and shot out into space.

" **They're here**. **Get the fleet now**!" Viran shouted as TIE Fighters dispatched from star destroyers and started blasting at the four of them. There were dozens of TIEs and three star destroyers in the attack.

Aang, Exar, and Jo broke formation and started flying towards the TIEs. The Jedi gave it all they got, blasting and blasting until the TIEs broke away and moved around them.

" _Where's Master Viran_?" Aang asked.

" _Over here_. _Eight o' clock_." Viran replied. Aang turned his head to the left, towards Coruscant, and saw Viran leading a big squad of Republic ships. "How 'bout this?" Viran subtly commanded as the squad went forward to take on this nostalgic threat.

Erk joined Jayko on the bridge of the star destroyer, shortly after the Jedi's Republic reinforcements arrived. "We're outmatched." Erk said.

"What are you doing here?" Jayko asked sternly.

"Our master required me to be here."

"Very well." Jayko hesitantly replied. "We're here just to let my father know I'm here and I mean business."

"So this is all about some kind of vendetta against your dad?"

"No. We're against the Jedi as well."

"You know this will be declared as an act of war? Are you ready for that? We've barely amassed a typical Imperial fleet."

"Your eyes are quite shut for a sith. With every mistake, there's room for improvement. They'll think we've made a mistake by 'attacking' the capitol, but this is no mistake. This is just a warm up."

"For what exactly?"

" _Real_ war, Erk. Real war. I'm not talking about something like _this_." Jayko motioned to the battle outside. "Not an occasional battle between two enemies. I'm talking battles almost _all_ day, _every_ day, everyone straining to strike a final blow upon their enemy... but nothing ends up happening."

"What's your plan?" Erk asked.

"Make sure my father knows of what I've done, then, Erk, then we'll prepare for _real_ war."

"How? Like I said, we've barely amassed a fleet."

"Your eyes are quite shut, like I said. Squint an eye, and you'll barely see anything. But an open eye sees the whole picture."

Erk chose not to reply, but rather thought about what Jayko said.

Jo was performing barrel-rolls with his fighter, dodging TIE Fighter blasts coming from behind. Once they were done firing, Jo laughed and pressed a button which turned his ship's blasters around so they aimed at the TIEs.

Jo laid his eyes on the screen to his left, so he could see behind himself, and aimed at the TIEs.

"Oh no." The TIE pilots said.

"Gotcha." Jo said as he fired several shots. Once he saw all three TIEs explode, he shouted in victory, but at first failed to see that he was heading straight into a star destroyer. He quickly swerved sideways to avoid crashing into the bridge, and when he did, he ended up spotting Erk _and_ Jayko.

"Who is tha-?"

...

Jo suddenly received a familiar feeling inside himself, as if he knew the person in the chrome stormtrooper armor. _'No,'_ Jo thought, _'Someone he's...'_ He got another feeling. _'Someone he's_ _ **related**_ _to.'_

Then it snapped to him.

" _Jo_! _Watch out_!" Exar suddenly commed him, noticing another TIE following Jo.

Then reality snapped to Jo as he noticed the TIE also. But the TIE fired at him the instant Jo saw it. The edge of Jo's right wing got hit, and Jo started losing momentum.

" _Jo_ , _dock with one of the command ships_ , _we'll handle the rest_." Exar commanded.

"It's not that bad, it's just the edge of the wing." Jo said as he blasted the TIE behind him.

" _Come back to us_ , _though_. _You've gone a distance away_. _You alright_?" Exar said.

"Yea, yeah I'm okay." Jo replied, turning around and seeing how far he had gone. _'Wow, he's right.'_ Then started heading back. As he passed the same star deatroyer, luckily not getting shot by it, he cast another glance at the mysterious, yet fancy stormtrooper. He thought hard about this puzzling happening.

The fight continued shortly before the Republic forces overwhelmed the Imperial forces.

"We're getting overwhelmed, Jayko. It's time to retreat." Erk said.

...

"Jayko! We're about to die!"

"Go ahead and call the retreat. It's been long enough." Jayko said, walking off the bridge with a swish of his cape.

"They're retreating." Viran said, confused.

" _I've seen this before, this is either really good or really bad. In other words, they're either just trying to send some kind of message, or thet're just pulling back before a major strike_." Aang said.

" _I'm going to stay posotive about this_." Exar replied.

" _Either way, we're needing to take defensive measures. Let's get back to your base and report this_." Viran said.

"On it." Exar replied.

-Time Skip-

The Jedi had arrived back on Kashyyyk and had given their report. Jo wasn't very attentive most of the time, though. And it didn't take long for Exar to notice. Exar invited Jo to have a chat outside.

"What happened out there, Jo? You've acted like you've seen a force-ghost since the battle."

"A shadow."

"What do you mean?"

"I never met the one I saw, but he's... _related_ to someone I _have_ met."

"Was he leading the attack?"

"Yes. Alongside Erk." Jo clenched his fists.

"Well, whoever it is, we need to have a talk with the one he's related to. Do you know where he is now?"

"In the capitol."

"Oh? Wait, above the capitol, Coruscant, is where the battle took place."

"Yeah, and?"

"I've got two theories, but before it goes any further, we need to talk to this guy." Exar ran off to tell the others.

"Glad to be of help."

Erk and Jayko kneeled in a dark room, lit by a torch. Their boss was present, in the shadows, awaiting their report.

"The attack was successful. We drew out Republic forces and by now, word of our attack should be spreading around."

"Did they take it as an act of war?" Their boss asked.

...

"Quite possibly." Erk answered.

"Question for you, Jayko Ren: are you sure your father was on Coruscant during the time of the attack?"

"His presence couldn't have been more clear."

"Good. You are dismissed." The boss said to them. Erk and Jayko exited the room, and their mysterious boss remained. "The Empire will be reborn."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Ben Solo sat in his quarters, meditating. He sensed his son in the attack above Coruscant, and wondered what to do. The comm system on his door control panel buzzed, and a droid-like voice came through.

"Captain Solo, three Jedi to see you."

"Send them in." Ben said as he opened his eyes.

The door opened and Jo, Exar, and Aang entered and sat in front of him.

"Jo." Ben greeted, hiding any sense of awkwardness.

"Benjamin." Jo replied with a monotone.

"This is your team, I take it?" Ben asked.

"It is." Jo replied, tone and face unchanging.

"I'm Aang, the leader." Aang looked over to Exar, then continued, "For now. And that's Exar." Exar waved.

"Is this a social visit?" Ben asked.

"Oh, no. My friend, Jo has seen someone, he says is related to you, lead the attack."

Ben drifted his eyes away for a second before replying, "My son, Jaren."

 _'Son!'_ Jo exclaimed in his mind.

"After the fall of the First Order, I started a new life and had a son. Somehow, he ended up figuring out about my past life and became interested in it. And once he realized it wouldn't happen because I joined the Republic, he turned away and went on his own. I'm surprised he made it _that_ far on his own."

"He wasn't alone. He lead the attack alongside a sith. An enemy of ours." Aang said.

"Erk?"

"You know him?"

"Jaren left a year after they met, and he left about four years ago."

"Erk met him five years ago?" Exar asked.

"That's right."

"Five years ago was when the purge happened on Tatooine. Erk and I are thought to be the only survivors."

"What month did the said purge happen?" Ben asked.

"The third month."

"Erk met him the fourth month of that year."

...

"That's a little suspicious. They met only a month after?"

"Wait, purge on Tatooine? What was going on there?"

"It's where force-sensetive children were taught to use the force to its full potential."

"Erk's a sith. I knew I sensed something wrong with him."

"Somehow, they're connected. Okay, let's go through this step-by-step."

"So," Exar started, "The purge hapened, Erk fled, and only a month later, did he meet your son."

"To meet him only a _month_ later gives me the idea that he was _looking_ for him."

"Why would he be looking for him?"

...

"Random thought that came to me, how did you get your first, First Order, helmet?" Exar asked.

"It was in a star destroyer wreckage."

"Where?" Aang asked quickly.

...

"Sullust."

Aang recoiled, and shakily stood.

"What is it?"

"What... what did the helmet, look like?"

"I just so happen to have a file on the construction, well, more like upgrade, of the helmet." Ben said, standing up and going through an old datapad he so-conveniently had stored up. He set it down and opened up the oldest video file he had. Ben immediately paused it when the broken helmet was in view. Aang was staring at it wide-eyed.

 **(See the chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the helmet Kylo Ren got** _ **his**_ **helmet from.)**

"You knew the bearer of the mask?" Ben asked.

"Yes." Aang replied, snapping out of his trance. "He was a friend of mine, and an old team I used to work with." He said a little quietly. A moment of silence passed before Ben spoke up again.

"Well, thank you for the conversation. I now have more to say when I present this to the Senate."

"Thank _you_ for your time." Exar said, bowing his head.

"No need for that, my friend. I hope to see you all again." Ben said, walking off.

"Indeed." Aang replied as they went the opposite way.

Exar lightly slapped Jo on the back of his head, "Ow. What?"

"You _**know**_ _ **him**_?" Exar exclaimed.

"Yeah, I met him in his prime time. The early years of the First Order."

"And here we were thinking we knew everything about you." Aang said.

"We don't know _every_ thing about each other. Exar's living proof of that." Jo replied.

As the team was back on their base, they were summoned immediately to the meeting room. And there, they were greeted by Ephraim and Republic Seargent Sisbar, a female Mon Calamari warrior. She was suitable for many forms of combat, whether it be up close, hand-to-hand, or distant sniping.

"Team, Seargent Sisbar. Seargent Sisbar, team." Ephraim greeted.

"Seargent." The team greeted her.

"I am here with an urgent mission for the Jedi."

"No rest for the weary, huh?" Jo mumbled.

"What's going on?" Exar asked.

"Spies have implied a sighting of a sith holocron on Takodana, and we need you to quickly obtain it before this new _'empire'_ does."

"Sith holocron? Well this escalated quickly." Aang mumbled the last part.

"We're on it." Exar said as they rushed out to start their new mission. They went outside and boarded their Tantive shuttle while they had their star fighters refuel. They took off and zoomed out.

"A sith holocron. How 'bout that?" Aang said.

"I thought those all... disappeared." Exar said.

"Apparently not." Aang replied, setting hyperspace coordinates to Takodana. "And... we're off." And they launched into lightspeed.

"So what's the whole deal with sith holocrons? Besides their being 'sith' holocrons. Like, disappearing?" Jo asked.

"After the First Order's death, the New Republic did the best it could to get rid of any hint of evil in the galaxy. One of those tasks included their Jedi gathering all the sith holocrons and once they did, they were buried deep in the surface of an unknown planet. Only a few know where they are. Although, considering how deep they were buried, I'd be surprised if they weren't melted already." Aang explained.

"That's confusing." Jo said.

"Well, it was deep within the planet, _really_ deep."

"Huh. Well, they missed one."

"And it's up to us to retrieve it before it falls into destructive hands."

"Oh we know." Exar said.

...

"How long until we're there?"

"Several parsecs away. Halfway across the galaxy."

"Well let's hope we're not going to be too late." Exar said.

"Oh stop. You need to be more positive." Aang said playfully.

"Yes mum." Exar replied, making Jo laugh.

"A sudden thought, I know someone on Takodana who might be able to help us. Especially when it come to force-related artifacts. Coincidently, she was a friend of Ben's dad."

"Really?" Aang asked, swerving his chair around.

"She's kinda... old. Old, but quite a tough one. If there's anything you need to know about ancient artifacts like a holocron, she's the one to go to." Jo said.

"Nice. This should be a little easy." Exar said.

"Unless _they_ show up." Aang added.

"Right. That. Just a reminder, Jo: this does need to be a quick mission. So no long conversations." Aang told Jo.

"Fine."

"This was an act of war!" Several Senators were shouting throughout the senate hall.

"If it's war they want, it's war they'll get." Other Senators agreed, but obviously, some disagreed.

"Can we go at least a decade without a war?"

"Some of us are still recovering from the _**last**_ one."

 _ **THUMP THUMP**_

"Order!" Calista shouted. "Master Rye, please step up."

"I come before you _now_ to tell you of a greater threat than just one sith. There was recently an attack above Coruscant, and an eye witness reported that there was not only one, but two sith leading the attack. Adding to that, the attack was composed of _Imperial ships_." Rye said before the Senate.

"Who was the eye witness?" Calista asked.

"That would be a member of my team. Now I know that may not be very convincing, so that's why I'd like to bring up Jedi Ben Solo to support this." Rye said. Ben stepped up to speak.

"Some of you might know me because of my past life, and those will know that I had a son afterwards. He left many years ago, and I never knew where he went. And as the attack above Coruscant commensed, I sensed him. _**My son**_ , was the one who led the attack. Let me tell you, I couldn't be more certain of anything."

The Senate stirred up, but not in the usual way. It sounded as if they were loudly discussing whether to trust him or not.

 _ **THUMP THUMP**_

"What do we decide? Do we believe him?" Calista asked loudly. "Yea?" The crowd let out some big 'yea's. "Nay?" There was about an equal amount of 'nay's, but there was a louder 'yea' shout, so Calista announced, "A majority of the Senate believes you, but we need to decide what to do about it now."

"For now, I say we wait and find out more about what they want, and what they're after, then we'll decide what to do." Ben said.

"That settles it." Calista let out a last thump of her staff.

Calista met with Rye and Ben outside, in the Senate hall. "This is getting out of hand. Now there are _two_ of them?"

"Apparently." Rye replied.

"How's your team going to _survive two_ of them?"

"Your friend, Viran is with them. Have faith in them, and they might survive." Rye paused for a second, "Maybe not in one piece, though."

"Brother!" Erickson called after Rye. Rye turned to greet him.

"Erickson. What are you-?"

"Hold on! Hold on!" Erickson took a breath. "If I recall, a bodyguard was placed in charge of the team. Correct?"

Realizing that it was a rhetorical question, Rye answered,"Yes."

"Well, the _three_ of them just left for Takodana."

"What for?" Rye aksed, getting worried.

"Ephraim and Seargent Sisbar told me that it was for a sith holocron."

"That's not good. The sith might be able to track it. We need to get to them as quick as possible."

"That won't be possible." Calista intervened.

"Why not?" Rye asked, facing her.

"We need you here to oversee preparation for a new fleet we're receiving."

"New fleet?"

"Senator Garm Bel Iblis told me that he agreed to help you by giving us some of his Corellian fleet."

"Oh that's right. I guess the team might be alright for now." Rye said.

"Don't shrug off the possibility that they might _not be_ if the sith arrive." Erickson replied.

"I didn't finish." Rye said, turning his head in Erickson's direction. "If we can get our job done in time, we can still get to them quickly enough before anything might happen." Erickson seemed to agree.

"If there's a possibility that my son will be there, _I_ have to be there."

"We need _you three_ to oversee preparations to receive _and lead_ the new fleet into battle."

"Lead into... into battle?" Rye questioned quite curiously.

"With the intel received before the attack over Coruscant, we might be able to catch them by surprise."

...

"There's nothing we can do for your team right now." Calista said. "I'm sorry."

"We'll send Viran to them."

"That we _can_ do."

"Exar! Jo! Aang! Where are you?" Viran looked through rooms for his team, who had apparently disappeared from his oversight. He reached the meeting room, a little worried about them. "They better be okay." Then the hologram projector on the table started beeping. Viran activated it and Rye appeared.

"The team is okay." Rye said. "For now, at least. The team is headed to Takodana to retrieve a sith holocron. Did they not tell you?" Rye then asked.

"Apparently not."

"What were you doing while they were briefed?"

"I was getting rest. I told them not to do anything without my permission, and to wait until I woke to- wait, briefed?"

"Ephraim and Seargent Sisbar briefed them on the mission."

"Huh. And where were you?"

"I was informing the Senate of an important discovery, found during the recent attack."

"What else happened?"

"Not much, really. Captain Ben Solo, Erickson, and I are to oversee preparations for a new Corellian fleet coming to us. Afterwards, we're to lead them into battle against this new 'Imperial' fleet. And we need you to chase down our team and supervise them."

"On it." Viran said, getting up to leave.

Rye was back outside the Jedi Temple with Erickson and Ben, waiting for the new fleet to arrive. In the meantime, Ben and Erickson nearly finished a long-range transmiter to contact the team.

"Okay, Viran's after the team and... what is that?" Rye stared at the device.

"We made this long-range transmitter to contact the team to tell them to refrain from doing anything until Viran arrives."

"You made this in the duration of a half hour?"

"No. It's been worked on for a couple weeks, but now, conveniently, I think it's finished." Erickson said.

"Well let's get it up and running." Rye said.

They they heard the sound of running engines getting louder, and looked outside and saw the fleet of Corellian ships, consisting of: a _Baleen_ -class heavy freighter, _Consular_ -class space cruisers, and CR90 Corvettes.

"Well I'll be." Erickson said.

" _Heck of a fleet huh_?" The voice of Garm Bel Iblis emitted from their transmitter.

"Yeah, it's like a giant comlink." Erickson summarized for Rye.

"Oh." He replied. "It is impressive, I admit. But will it be able to handle a recalibrated Imperial fleet?"

" _ **HA**_! _You amuse me_. _The Corellian Engineering Coorporation is the best ship-making business in the galaxy_."

"I'll take your word for it. Now let's land these ships and prep for battle." Rye said.

" _Copy that_."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

"Guys, we forgot Viran." Aang said.

"I wondered when you guys would notice." Jo said, grinning and stifling a laugh.

"You knew we forgot him and didn't say anything?!" Aang exclaimed.

"There's the Jo I know." Exar sarcastically complemented.

Then the shuttle exited hyperspace into the Takodana sector. "You're lucky we're here, otherwise I'd have chewed you out on that."

"Not yet used to having someone watching you, huh?" Jo asked, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head.

"It's not _that_ I'm not used to. Let's go." Aang said as they got up and headed to the ramp. He grabbed one of Jo's arms and said, "We'll continue this later."

"Why does it seem as if forgetting someone has become strangely personal?" Jo asked, staring into Aang's eyes with discomfort. Aang realized his point and let go.

They looked over at Exar and saw him fiddling with his mechanical arm. Exar then looked up to the lever, that was used to lower the ramp, and grabbed hold of it. Testing the arm's strength, he pulled down ever so gently as to not pull the robotic forearm off his severed arm. He was successful in not harming himself, and the ramp lowered. _'Pull my arm off? I really gotta reevaluate my mindset.'_ He thought.

"Good job." Aang said, walking off and patting Exar on the shoulder. Exar and Jo followed him down.

The team got a load of the tropical sight in person. Lush greenery was seen all over. A lake was in the distance, and there, they saw the castle. "There it is. The owner will help us." Jo pointed to the castle. Then the team started towards the castle, through the forest. Jo led the way.

"Aang," Exar whispered to Aang, catching his attention. "Why is forgetting Viran such a big deal?" He asked quietly.

"He was told to watch over us from then on, and now we're not under his supervision. It might _**slightly**_ damage his reputation, for one thing. And we're going after a sith holocron. If anything was to happen, or more likely, show up, who'd be here to protect us?"

"I'm understanding a little bit." Exar replied.

"And Jo didn't forget. He should've gotten Viran to come with us before we left. If anything shows up, it'll be because of him we might lose more than we already have." Aang finalized.

"Very good points. But you kow Jo, always on his feet. Who knows, maybe he forgot, and only remembered when it was too late."

"Maybe. But like you said, _'who knows'_." Aang said.

"You should probably talk to him." Exar said.

Aang nodded and went forward. "Jo, I need you to understand why it means a lot to remember something crucial to a mission."

"O...kay." Jo replied, a bit confused.

"Well first: why didn't you remind us to bring Viran when you had the chance?"

"I forgot... And remembered _after_ we entered hyperspace. I also had some other personal things on my mind. And to be honest, I'm surprised you of all people forgot. You're always the one to remember little bits and pieces, little details."

"True." Aang thought about it. "I guess we're all not yet used to being supervised like that."

"For crying out loud, we were barely supervised. We only had one mission with him. This is seeming strangely unrealistic."

"It is. Well, all I can say about that is: whatever happens, happens. The force is our best guide."

"And," Exar said, popping in between them, "You know that makes me the odd man out. Jo, you remembered before Aang did. And _I_ remembered only after Aang proclaimed that we forgot him."

"Right. So what about that _'crucial to the mission'_ thing?" Jo asked.

"Ah, yes. Considering our battle with Erk, if something came up and we couldn't handle it, who would be there to protect us? If a sith arrives to obtain the holocron, we're going to have needed all the help we can get."

"Point taken. If only _one_ of us remembered _before_ we took off."

"Guys." Exar called, suddenly yards away from them, looking through macrobinoculars. "If anyone dangerous arrives, I don't think we'll have a problem. That castle is armed to the teeth."

"What?" Jo exclaimed happily, going up to have a look through. Exar gave him the binoculars and Jo looked through and saw it all. "Maz, you old smarty you."

"What?"

"She upgraded her castle. Years ago, her castle was attacked by the First Order and it was demolished. She rebuilt it and apparently gave it this major upgrade."

"That is smart."

"We should hurry, though." Jo said, giving Exar his macrobinoculars back. "That holocron isn't going to obtain itself."

"Right!" Aang said as he and Exar followed.

Meanwhile on Coruscant, Rye, Erickson, and Ben were also making progress, keeping things in order. The ships were getting fueled and the crew was getting attended. Garm went to Rye to ask about the mission.

"What is it we're getting into here?" Garm asked.

"Well we discovered that the sith are alive, and we're capable of taking him out. But new problems have arisen since then. Another sith is side-by-side with the said sith, and led an attack over Coruscant. Using data we've collected, we might be able to home in on where they're hiding."

"Being sith, you think they made it that way to throw us off?"

"It's a 50/50 for me. It could be that, or being teenagers, they didn't think things through completely."

"Seems fair enough." Garm said, crossing his arms and gazing down at the gathered army. After a moment, he spotted the transmitter. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's a long-range transmitter. We're going to contact our team to make sure they don't do anything stupid until their supervisor arrives."

"Why not do it now?"

"My brother, Erickson, made me wait for him before doing so. He wants to see it work the first time."

Garm hummed in understanding and asked no more. Then, breaking the long, awkward silence, Erickson joined Rye in the hangar. "You ready?" Rye asked.

"I am now." Erickson replied.

Rye pressed the team's contact number into the transmitter, and they stood back, waiting for the miracle to happen. The antenna twirled around, hoping the team on Takodana would receive the signal. Rye and Erickson both figured that they shouldn't have a problem getting through, Takodana being in the Mid-Rim.

"Well," Rye said, observing the feedback, "The signal's being sent. It's just waiting for someone to respond."

"What will they respond with?" Garm asked.

"They have comlinks." Erickson answered.

"Are you sure comlinks will pick up that kind of signal?"

"Yeah. We have one over on our base that we used to contact them when they were on Kamino a few days ago."

...

"Why didn't you use that one?" Garm asked.

"We're building these transmitters at every Republic base in the galaxy, so we won't have to drag ourselves over to our base to contact someone, might happen to be across the galaxy." Rye replied.

"Smart. With leaders like you, that team of yours is going to be very intelligent."

"They're on their way there. There was a thing or two we actually learned from one of them."

...

"You're full of fun facts, Rye." Garm said, suddenly feeling succinct.

Jo and the team reached the castle perimeter. Exar took in his first experience on Takodana, while Aang and Jo relished the memories.

"You know I've been here before?" Aang asked.

"You don't say?" Jo said.

"Yeah, it was only a few years ago. You mind if I... attend, to something, before we get down to business?" Aang asked, his face growing sad, his voice going soft.

Jo noticed and nodded his head. They went on to the castle and up to the door. Jo raised his lightly clenched fist to knock, but before he moved it any further, the door opened to reveal the short, orange alien of unknown species.

"Ah! Jo!" Maz playfully shouted, the team slightly cringing.

"Hey Maz, glad to hear your voice is still in shape." Jo said, rubbing his only ear.

"You've grown since I last saw you, and you got an upgrade." Maz said, observing Jo's new half-face.

"Yep. Sith problems."

"Oh," Maz's tone dropped,"Those beasts are still around?"

"Yep, and uh-"

"One moment." Maz said, going over to Aang. "Hello again, Aang."

"Hi Maz."

"You guys know each other?" Jo asked.

"Yeah. It was the funeral of the Resistance's General Leia Organa." Aang dropped his head slowly.

"Many still feel your pain. She is always missed." Maz said.

After a moment of silence, Aang spoke up with a quiet tone, "I'll be right back." Then he walked off.

"You boys come inside, we'll talk for a bit before he comes back." Maz said, motioning inside.

Maz led Jo and Exar to a table inside the cantina, and had them sit down.

"First of," Maz said, sitting down and looking over to Exar, " _We_ haven't met."

"I am Exar."

Maz hummed, then said, "Unique name, I must say. And rare color for your species."

"You know we're not born with these tattoos, right?"

"Yes, I know. I've seen Zabraks like you with either red or yellow, but orange means something different."

"It _means_ something different?"

"Yes. Tell me, Exar, do you know of any prophecies, not well-known?"

"Well you might have to be more specific, the planet I gained knowledge from is rich with rare documents and old prophecies."

"Were there any documents that were restricted from being read?"

"There was one. Only the ancient leader knew what it was."

"I know little of it, I just know that it had something to do with a young, literally bright leader saving the galaxy. I know that seems like an entire prophecy, but for once, I knew that this one had more detail to it." Maz said with a little laugh.

"Sounds interesting, but we're here on urgent business." Jo cut in.

"The sith holocron?" Exar and Jo were about to ask how she knew, but Maz raised her hand and said, "I sent the message."

"Oh. Well, we should, uh, probably get Aang."

Exar and Jo found Aang on his knees in front of a grave stone in an isolated area of the castle. They slowly, quietly approached him and sat down behind him. Exar sensed that Aang was peaceful, and was sort of surprised. After a moment of tranquility passed, Jo peeked over Aang's shoulder to see the grave stone.

It read:

 _Here Lies Leia Skywalker Solo_

 _Beloved General, Sister, Wife, And Mother_

 _19 BBY - 41 BBY_

"She was the greatest leader the galaxy ever had." Aang said.

"I bet she was." Exar replied.

"Well, Aang, we uh, got a mission to do. Sorry if I ruined the moment." Jo said.

"It's okay. Let's do this." Aang said as the team got up and moved out.

 _Rest In Peace Carrie Fisher_

 _October 21, 1956 - December 27, 2016_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

"Sad to see this place isn't as popular as it used to be." Jo said.

"A new casino opened up elsewhere on Takodana, and the people that populated this place spent themselves there, and now they're broke." Maz said.

"So they can't really do anything anymore? I thought those kind of guys would always _get_ more money."

"They do. I was joking."

"Oh." Jo laughed a little bit. "So, uh, why-?"

"They spend time at the said casino."

"Okay."

"Seeing Jo chat with someone else is cute and all, but we're needing to get the holocron." Exar chimed in.

"Very well boys, follow me." Maz told them, ambling to her basement staircase. The team followed her down the dark, dimly lit hallway.

"Um, what are we doing in the basement?" Aang asked.

"I thought you'd have figured it out by now." Maz replied.

"What, does _that_ mean?" Aang inquired.

Maz didn't reply. She turned and entered one of her chambers, quickly unlocked a box and opened it, revealing the glowing-red metal triangle of unknown knowledge.

"You..." Aang was nearly speechless.

"Have the holocron." Exar finished for him.

"Of course. You think it was spotted in the black market?" Maz laughed, shortly.

 _ **BOOM**_

"I know _**that**_ sound." Maz emphasized sharply. She slapped a button on the wall, and they heard a buzzing sound activating. "Not _**this**_ time."

"What was that?" Jo questioned. Maz replied by turning and grinning.

"You not only added guns but _shields_! That's brilliant!" Jo complimented.

"These may be one-way shields, but they are to my advantage. _Nothing_ can come in."

"But things can go _out_."

Maz mounted stairs, onto a walkway, where many big, powerful guns could be fired towards intruding ships. "I've had _these_ babies for a _long_ time. They've done a lot for me in the past few years, almost instantly shooting down any scoundrel. They really pack a punch, and I'm... I'm not sure this castle would be standing here now if it wasn't for these."

"Spoken like true ballistophilia." Jo said.

"What?"

"Nothing."

At that moment, Exar spotted a transmitter near the counter, and stated, "We should contact our masters and call for reinforcements." Exar jumped down towards it and pressed Rye and Erickson's call numbers, but it didn't work.

" _ **You have to put a credit in the slot**_!" Maz shouted over a recent 'boom'.

Exar sighed and pulled out a bag from his cloak. He took out a credit and placed it in the slot. The ground of the slot opened up and the credit dropped into the machine. Exar then heard a humming sound within the machine, then he entered the number again. Moments of buzzing and signal-up-picking flew by, and he heard a voice from the other end. "Master Rye!"

"Exar, there you are."

"Sorry master, but we need help here on Takodana. Like now. _They_ _ **did**_ arrive."

"Do you have the holocron?"

"We do. It's safely secured in a locked box in a secure basement in a locked-shield castle."

"Viran's on his way, do-" The signal was interrupted.

"What happened?"

"They probably took out my antenna. Quickly, you may want to get going while you have the chance."

"We're not leaving without the holocron."

"Not what I meant." _**BOOM**_ "The guns. Fight the intruders off."

"Right!" Exar went back up to the rampart and grabbed the handles of one of the guns. A screen activated on the wall, showing what the gun was aiming at. And they saw a star destroyer dispatching TIE Fighters while firing down upon the shield. "Guys, a little help." Exar insisted.

"I wonder: if they've constantly been firing, what's been powerful enough to cause all those 'booms?' " Jo wondered, also occupying a gun with Aang.

"Oh who knows?" Aang simply stated.

"Well that didn't work as well as I'd hoped." Rye said.

"What happened?" Erickson anxiously asked.

"The signal was cut off."

Erickson contemplated for a moment before responding. "Either this needed more work, or something happened over _there_."

"Don't get your hopes down just yet. Viran's on his way there."

"Should we send more to help them? I distinctly recall Exar saying that _they_ arrived."

"We can't do anything right now; we need to lead this new squad to battle. To stop a new war."

"This could be our team's last mission."

"Erickson, brother, you _know_ what they've been through, both separately _and_ together. I have full faith they will make it out alright. You should too."

"I _have_ faith in them. It's the power the enemy might now have that worries me. Also, how can you be so sure?"

"Because... _**I**_ know where they are."

Erickson mouthed the word 'oh'.

Erk marched through the star destroyer's hallway, heading to the hangar where his ship was held. On the way, he grabbed a pilot to come along to help drop him off. "I'm going to drop down to the surface, you're going to fly the ship back here." He commanded as they entered the hangar.

"As you say." The pilot replied.

The Jedi trio stopped firing the guns when they saw that they had blasted every TIE Fighter. Exar recoiled with elation and hollered with joy. Jo mirrored him, then they saw Aang staring at the screen.

"What's up, doc?" Exar asked.

"We're not done yet." Aang responded as the all-too-familiar black Mandalorian ship appeared into view. Jo clenched his fists, and Exar growled.

"We end this now!" Jo snarled as he went back to the guns and rapidly fired at Erk's ship. He quickly grew frustrated when he noticed the lasers had no effect on the ship.

"Of course these kind of guns won't have any effect on a sith's ship. We gotta do this the usual way. Lightsaber combat." Exar proclaimed.

"Be careful." Maz told them.

"Don't worry Maz, we know how to take care of this guy." Aang replied as the team exited the building, just behind the shield. They looked up at the ship, which stopped flying around and simply stilled in the air. They they saw the ramp open up, and the dark, cloaked figure drop down and land only a few yards away.

The team ignited their lightsabers and stepped outside the shields. Erk stood straight up and glared at them, igniting his double-sided black lightsaber. "One more chance." Erk whispered. "Well well. Good to see you in such good condition in such little time after such a battle." The team gave no response, just stanced themselves and raised their lightsabers. "Very well." Erk posed. "Whenever you're ready."

"You wanted another chance at him? We got it." Exar mumbled.

"Aang, you wanna share your invincibility with us?" Jo asked.

"Very funny." Aang said.

"You guys ready?" Exar asked, then shouted, "Go!" They sped towards each other. As Erk was about to strike Exar, Exar jumped over Erk's head and landed behind him. Erk had to be quick in dodging and blocking all their attacks, spinning his lightsaber wildly. He luckily knocked Aang off balance, giving him room and time to disappear.

The team recovered and looked around for Erk. They were slowly spinning themselves around to be sure Erk wouldn't jump a surprise attack on them. Exar closed his eyes and felt for Erk's presence. He remained that way for a moment, then sensed Erk right behind him. He turned around and looked down and saw that he had two shadows. "Gee, that isn't obvious at all." Exar shouted sarcastically loud enough for his team to notice, right before striking down and sideways, forcing Erk up and out. Erk spun like a tornado, making Exar stand back. Exar then charged forward to swing down on Erk. Erk saw this as the perfect time to counteract, so he dissipated into a shadow, then immediately came up behind Exar and used the force to push him into Aang. He then continued to use the force on them to hold them in the air.

"Come at me, youngling. Show me what you-"

 _ **POW**_

Jo knocked Erk a long distance away, using his boot jets to give him a huge boost. Exar and Aang dropped from the air. Erk stood and recovered, shock clearly showing in his eyes. _'What in the name of the force!'_ Erk thought. "I admit I did not see that coming."

"Bet you didn't see this coming either." Jo said, pressing a button on one of his arms, then Erk started getting electrocuted. Once Erk realized it was happening, he absorbed it, then pulled off the electrocuter device.

"You are full of surprises." Erk complimented.

"Like this one?" Jo then used the force to pull a tree down on him.

"Come on!" Erk exclaimed.

"Are you paralyzed?" Jo asked.

"No." Erk then disappeared, then came up from under Jo, toppling him over.

Erk used the force to hold them all together. Limping towards them, he reignited his lightsaber. "Time to die, _heroes_." He raised his lightsaber to strike them, but-

 _ **PEW PEW**_

 _ **BOOM**_

Erk was nearly shot, as a blast hit the ground and sent him flying up a couple feet in the air. He landed and the wind was knocked out of him, making him pass out. The team was released, and they looked over to where they thought the blast came from. Through the shields, they scarcely saw that one of the guns had just been fired.

"I don't know why I didn't do that before." Maz mumbled to herself.

"What do we do about that star destroyer?" Exar asked.

"I don't know, but their guns only fire straight, sideways, and behind. It can't do any damage from there. " Aang replied.

Jo looked over to Erk's unconscious body, then saw a little chip beside him. He stode over to it, then picked it up in a flash and backed away. Then he remembered Erk, then smirked as he got an idea. He faced the body, then outstretched both arms. He jerked his arms upwards as hard and as fast as he could, sending Erk up to the star destroyer. Jo ejected his hands from his arms to keep Erk in the air until he reached the star destroyer.

Erk's body flew into the main hangar bay of the star destroyer, jolting the troopers, pilots, and workere. It surprised them even more to see two metallic hands appear with the body. One of the hands waved, then released a detonator into the destroyer. Erk woke up just in time to send it downward. It was barely in the air before it exploded. Jo's hands flew down and reconnected to him.

"Darn." Exar grumbled. "Good try, though."

"Hold up! Look!" Jo pointed to the star destroyer and saw that they knocked out their tractor beams with the detonator. Then the ship started retreating.

"Nice." Aang acclaimed.

Exar noticed the ship heading to their left, then northwest.

...

"Guys." Exar started a little quietly.

"What?" Aang asked a little nervously, noticing Exar's tone and unusual lingering focus on the star destroyer.

"Where was the ship landed?"

...

"The same direction!" Aang shouted as they started dashing to their ship, hoping to save it. "Star destroyers are typically slow on planets, so we _might_ be able to save the ship."

"Not very reassuring." Jo said, activating his boot jets and flying forward. "I'll head them off at the pass."

Maz turned off the shields to her castle and rushed outside, " _ **Jo**_! _**Aang**_! _**Wait**_!" But they were already out of sight.

Jo flew as fast as he could, muttering _'Not the ship, not the ship.'_ the whole time. He flew below the trees, avoiding any chance of the star destroyer seeing him. Again seeing the sky, he thought he was close. And he was. He came out and saw the ship landed. It was alright, but then he looked up and saw the star destroyer approaching. "Gotta hurry." Jo said, rushing aboard the shuttle. He turned the ship on, and it started lifting off. A 'boom' erupted near the back of the ship, knocking it off balance. "Blast! The hyperdrive is down!" Then a constant rain of booms came down upon it, explosions of dirt were going on everywhere as the ship started breaking. "This can't be happening. What happened to the shields?" Jo asked.

Then the ship started rocking around slowly. Jo quickly gave the ship another try, but it wouldn't budge. _'Every half-man for himself, I guess.'_ Jo thought, then ran to jump out before the ship might explode on him. He got to the ramp as the shuttle started tilting over, her tried jumping, but he started sliding the other way. When he looked up, he saw the tip of the star destroyer and the lasers being constantly fired in his direction. He activated his boot jets and luckily exited the ship untouched. He stopped and tried landing to evade detection. He did so a little too fast, and he dropped to the ground. He got up and looked over to the shuttle, to see it coming apart and falling down the ciffside.

"Sorry, Aang." Jo said, then said to himself, "Well, it _was_ Aang who _landed_ the ship on the friggin' cliffside."

Then, Exar and Aang caught up and saw Jo standing on the edge of the cliff, looking down into the canyon. They gave each other rather unreadable glances, then ran to his side and looked down. They saw piles of ship debris in flames. Exar bit his bottom lip and he and Jo looked over to Aang, who was expressionless. Aang looked over at them and asked, "What? There are plenty more. Come on, we should find a way back from a town or something." Aang pointed out and started heading back. Exar and Jo sighed in relief.

The team arrived back at Maz's castle in the same condition in which they left. Maz was there, waiting for them with the crate. Once she saw them, she rushed over to them with the crate and handed it to Aang, "Take this back safely, and whatever you do, do not let it get into any other hands."

"We know what we have to do, but our ship was destroyed by the star destroyer, we need a ride." Exar said as Aang took the crate.

"I have nothing but a speeder, and there's a town a mile and a half in the West." Maz turned and pointed behind herself.

"We can only hope things don't go South from there on, huh?" Jo joked.

"Funny," Maz said, smiling, "But seriously," She took on a serious glance then continued, "Get to town and get a way back. It's crucial this gets into secret Republic hands."

"Alright, where's the speeder?" Aang asked.

"I'll get it."

Exar chose to pilot the speeder, while Aang held onto the speeder with all four arms. The speeder being small and somewhat cramped, Exar managed to hold the crate in his lap against his stomach. Jo was going to fly along with them, but he wanted to bid Maz farewell.

"I'll see you again soon." Jo said.

"Definitely. Stay safe and don't get killed."

"Funny. I'm living proof I can't get killed."

"Now don't exaggerate. And don't keep your friends waiting; you all have a job to do."

"Right. See ya." Jo said as he wave, ran off, then flew into the air, followed by Exar and Aang on the speeder.

"May the force be with you three."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

"You failed again." Jayko scolded Erk as he paced around his the conference room.

"Jayko, my friend, why didn't you go?" Erk interrogated.

"I had business of my own." Jayko sighed. "I have no choice but to restrain you from your duty until further notice."

"And you can do better than I can?" Erk questioned.

"Apparently. You hardly laid a scratch on them last attempt."

"We all make mistakes. Some we have to live with. Apparently, _you_ can't let _any_ go."

"Be careful, Erk. Don't let your mouth become your best weapon."

"Oh did I hurt your feelings?"

"If you have something to say, you might as well spit it out while you can."

"I'm saying, _**I**_ , am better than you."

"Wanna bet?"

Erk stood, then asked with a fake surprised tone, "What is _this_? You wanna lose?"

"Bring it."

Erk grinned under the mask, then disappeared into smoke. Jayko looked around for him, then sensed for him. He swiftly turned to slice him with his vibroblade, but Erk phased through it and surrounded Jayko, and entered his mind.

Jayko found himself in floating in, what appeared to him to be, a purple and black cloud tornado. Erk appeared from nowhere and stood in front of him.

"I have more power than you, Jayko. I can do things almost no one else could ever get close to accomplishing. I could kill you right now, but we're not enemies. If you think I won't be able to get them next time, you're dead wrong."

Then they snapped back to reality.

"That was nice, and all, but I have an attack to lead. I'm going to get more done than you ever did."

Erk just hummed once, "Prove that you can do better. I want to see you bring me their lightsabers."

"I'll bring their heads." Jayko said, exiting the room. A second later, he entered again and said, "And you can't tell me what to do. Get to Kamino."

Only a few minutes later did Jo, Aang, and Exar reach the town. It reminded Aang of the town on Tatooine, but looked like a mixture of Mos Eisley and Takobo City. The town was composed of only two blocks, and had various kinds of buildings. The tall buildings were luxury condos and resorts, everything else was either half that size or smaller. The town was surrounded by the forest, and had a perfect view of the sky.

"Nights here must be beautiful." Exar said, looking up into the sky where trees shaded them from the sun, and where bright puffy clouds populated the sea of baby blue.

"Can't disagree with that." Jo said.

"Too bad we can't stay here forever, we need to get a ship back to Coruscant."

"Aang." Exar said, putting an arm around Aang's shoulder, then continued, " _You_ , need to relax. You're often too focused on the mission at hand, and you barely take a breather any other time."

"I meditate."

"You don't always have to. You can take a moment to just, enjoy life, you know? Just loosen up a little bit."

"A little cliché, but really convincing. Bu-No! no. We have to meet up with our masters soon. There's an attack we're supposed to be a part of."

"What? I, er, we weren't told about that." Exar said.

Aang just shrugged.

"Now where might we find a pilot?" Exar asked himself.

"Right here." Jo asserted, staring right at a casino sign over the door of a building.

"Well." Exar finished.

"Alright," Jo said, rubbing his hands together, "How much we got?" He asked, faking a stereotypical scoundrel with an accent.

"How much what?" Aang asked.

"Money." Jo whispered, scoping around.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Have you never been anywhere like this before? You never know what kind of money-loving thieves could be around." Jo replied.

"Right. Good point." Aang replied seriously, but with a sarcastic tone. "Exar, we're going in." Aang advised, waving him inside.

"Glad I could be of help." Jo mumbled as he followed along.

The team slowly entered the casino, observing the environment until they were stopped by a security guard. "Tell me your name and age."

"It'd hardly matter, we're here strictly on business." Aang replied. Then he noticed a small symbol on the handle of the guard's holstered gun. Aang looked back up to the guard then said, "Es lebe die Republik."

The guard grinned and stepped aside, "Enjoy."

"Like I said, _'we're here strictly on business.'_ " Then they walked on. The casino was a large, round room like any other bar, cantina, or casino. The bar, where many fancy drinks were served, was in the middle of the room, and was getting more populated. Tables were set along the edges of the room; special tables in the back received a view of a sunset and a moonlit sky at nighttime, but it wasn't as popular in the daytime. Game tables covered half the floor around the room, and a music booth was set near the entrance.

"What language were you speaking?" Exar asked.

"I don't know. It was something I was taught."

"Interesting. Anyway, where do we start?"

"Ask the bartender."

Exar thought about the quickness of Aang's response, then said,"You seem so decisive."

"Something wrong with that?"

"A thought just came to my head: You seem like you know exactly what to do with these kind of people. You spoke some form of gibberish and convinced a guard to let us in, and you seem so sure that the bartender can help us. It just makes me think _you're_ hiding something from _us_."

Aang turned to reply, "You know I'm technically old. I've been around much of the galaxy and done a lot. This is one of those places where I've been."

"But I thought you hadn't been anywhere like this before." Jo stated.

"I've been here before, I pretty much know this place from the inside, to the outside."

"You know this place... Maz said this place was built recently. Within the past half-decade. That's almost as long as we've been a team."

...

"And?"

"So _is_ there something you want to tell us?" Exar then asked.

"It really isn't a big deal." Aang looked around the place. "I helped build this place." Aang faced them again, " _Weeks_ before I joined the team."

"If you've been here before, why did the guard need to ask your age?"

"We get new guys every couple years, and nowadays," Aang paused, then continued. "You never know who you can trust." He said with a quiet tone.

"Don't I know it." Exar agreed with a solemn tone.

"Okay, okay, I don't like the look of this. Let's hurry along before something else happens."

Aang sensed a shift in the force, then swiftly turned and caught a stun blast in mid-air. That blast caught most of the peoples' attention. Aang took notice and declared, "Jedi business. Go back to your drinks." Exar ignited his lightsaber and Aang let the blast hit the lightsaber, getting absorbed.

Aang looked in the direction of where the blast originated, and saw a bounty-hunter-like character, spinning a gun around his finger and shoving it back in his holster. He had a large hat that covered his bandana-covered face; he had a cowboy-like appearence with his long trench coat and twin TX-23 "Fireworm" heavy blaster pistols.

Aang looked to the team and nodded his head in the figure's direction. They approached the table and sat on the other side, facing the mysterious person. "Howdy Jedi." The bounty hunter greeted with a confusing tone. The Jedi couldn't tell if he was an enemy with a menacing tone, or if his voice was just raspy.

...

"Is your voice always like that?" Jo asked, purely confused right before Aang elbowed him. "Dude, two elbows was unnecessary."

"I'm sure he meant to ask 'who are you?' " Exar insinuated.

"Well I'm not well known around these here parts of the outer rim. My name is Anson Tomas. Some call me _'The Tinkerer'_ and some weirdo decided to call me _'Bomb'_. It ain't a _bad_ name, it just confuses me that _'bomb'_ is the first name that came to mind."

"Well an interesting fellow you are. Why did the obscure 'he' you mentioned, call you 'bomb'?" Exar interrogated.

Then Anson pulled back his coat, revealing an old brown shirt and two leather straps, that formed an 'X' on his chest, with several thermal detonators lined up on each strap.

"Well _that's_ impressive... and obvious." Jo partially complemented.

"Now don't stare, that's rude." Anson said, pulling his coat back over himself. "Now who are you three Jedi? And what brings you here?"

"I am Exar. Our ship was destroyed and we've found ourselves in need of a ride back to the Republic capitol, Coruscant"

Anson understood, but also noticed the crate Jo was holding, and asked, "What's in there?"

"That is classified." Exar replied.

"Uh huh. Well I could offer you a ride, but it'd cost you somethin'."

"You're not going to see what's in here." Jo clarified.

"Fine. Who are _you_?"

"Name's Jo."

"And I am Aang. I helped build this casino."

"A mighty fine job you did there." Anson complemented.

"Aand I also established the rules. And I'm sure carrying more than one or two blasters is _against_ the rules."

"Is that so?" Anson asked, sneakily reaching for one of his blasters. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Jo tried intervening by talking to Aang, "Hey, dude, not now. We have to get a ship-"

"Can it, Jo." Aang swiftly interrupted.

"Gettin' a little serious here. Too serious for my liking." Anson said, raising his blaster and trying to fire, but Exar used the force to hold him back.

"Restrain yourself." Exar commanded, standing up.

"Is something wrong here?" A guard asked, stepping up.

"No. Everything is under control here." Aang replied, and the guard went away, but not before noticing Anson's frozen form.

Exar used the force to make Anson drop the blaster and sit down.

"Well that's new." Anson said, almost speechless and almost impressed.

"You know what happens when a rule is broken?" Aang asked.

"Do I ever. But let's get something straight: I'm not a bad guy, just someone protecting himself between both sides of the law."

"That would make you a bounty hunter."

"Yeah," Anson replied, picking up his gun, twirling it around his finger, and holstering it. "I guess I am."

"So what's going on?" Exar asked.

"Rules are broken, then you participate in a standoff." Aang answered.

"What!? That's a bit harsh, even by your standards." Jo said.

"We'll talk about it later."

"Aang, ther might not be a 'later' for you."

"Oh yes there will; standoff is at sunrise. You'll have _plenty_ of time to discuss things with your friends. But I'll tell you what: if you win, you can take my ship; if you don't, then I'll take that crate and we'll pretend this never happened."

"Sounds good enough." Aang said as he got up to exit, the team following him.

"Aang, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking: we're going to get ourselves a ship."

"By killing someone who's practically a stranger? You of _all_ people should know better."

"Believe me, Jo," Aang told strictly, " _I know what I'm doing_."

...

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Exar said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

Erk and Jayko, landed near their base on Coruscant, started going over Erk's plan to take back Kamino. Jayko had a hologram map of the base on Kamino popped up to show the detail. "Summing up the plan, you sneak your ship into the atmosphere, hoping to... no... hoping _not_ to attract attention from any Republic ships; you get to the base, by force if you attract attention; then from the inside, you clean the base from any Republic messes."

"Seems simple enough. What's the worry about having to deal with Republic cruisers?" Erk wondered.

"I've studied the mechanics for the cruisers that are currently guarding Kamino; the main differences, which are all the differences, are that the ships are a lot faster, and have _much_ more powerful firepower. I've envisioned only a _small_ chance that you'll make it by, barely alive; that is, if you _don't_ sneak in."

"I'm sneaking in how?"

"That's quite the question, isn't it?" Jayko replied blankly, stepping over to a device covered in a large cloth. Jayko then yanked the cloth off, revealing a somewhat new piece of technology. "With this." The machine was completely round. The spherical object was covered with metal, and looked as if the metal was splashed onto it. It was sat on a mechanical plate, which helped activate it, and made the inside glow blue.

 **(See chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the picture to be seen here.)**

"Am I supposed to know what that is?"

"Oh that's right. You're a little outdated."

"I'm not. Get to the part where things start making sense."

"This is a cloaking device. They were around during the Clone Wars, but not used very much; research shows that one _just like this_ was used a few times during the era of the original rebellion against the original Empire."

"Interesting. How was this recovered?"

"I found it aboard an old ship, crashed on Lothal."

"What ship?"

"Hard to say. It was buried underground, and I couldn't make out anything. I found this, though, inside and managed to find blueprints for it. That's how this came to be in my hands."

"Well what are you making me wait for?"

"I'm not holding you back. You just need to install it in your ship and get it going."

"Doesn't sound too hard."

"Master Jedi, how are preparations coming along?" Lieutenant Governor Calista inquired, announcing her and Ephraim's presence in the Jedis' hangar bay.

"Everything's coming along well, your honor." Rye answered, going through a checklist.

"What's left for preparations? I need to report the ongoings." Ephraim asked.

"Pretty much just repairs for the ships, including: new dual laser cannon emitter muzzles, laser cannon maintenance panels, engine cooling duct outlets, and laser cannon capacitors. Some need new power converters, and coolant gas hoses... Excuse me." Rye faced some workers in the hangar and shouted, "Everyone, can I have your attention?!" The workers stopped their work and acknowledged the Jedi. "I have just devised a list of supplies we need to prepare for the mission. Now I'll be handing out lists so we can get this done quicker." All the workers then came by and each took a datapad with the list of needed supplies and started their task.

"Excellent work. We might be on top of this in no time." Ephraim complemented.

"Don't get your hopes too high, Ephraim, we have a lot of parts needed. It may take time, and it'll take patience to accomplish our mission with pure success."

"You and your wise mouth." Ephraim complemented again, laughing.

"Well I come with news from the Senate. I don't have time to go over the details, so, to summarize: they want the attack ready by sunrise." Calista explained.

"Does... your husband know of any of this?"

"I'm afraid not. He's been on a rather long trip to Mon Cala to establish a treaty."

"Interesting. What for?"

"Recently, things have gotten a little personal among between them and the Republic. My husband has been doing his best to settle things there."

"What's the problem?"

"Apparently they've barely received any credit for all the work they've done for us."

"Why is that?"

"Even as Lieutenant Governor, that reason is beyond me."

"Well I certainly hope _that_ gets resolved soon."

"Don't we all?"

"Hey, how's the team doing?" Ephraim asked curiously.

"I haven't received any status updates as of yet; Viran should report soon."

"Where are they, anyway?"

"Takodana. They're with an old friend of ours. As far as _I_ know."

"Well thank you for the report, I am needed elsewhere." Calista said, exiting the room quickly.

Ephraim turned back to Rye, "You're _really_ worried about them aren't you?"

"How _can't_ I be?" Rye answered, keeping a low tone. "I tried communicating with them earlier, but the transmission was cut off somehow and I'm under the impression that they were under attack."

"Why would they be under attack? Takodana's been a peaceful planet for a long time."

"Maybe a decade ago, it was besieged by The First Order; I'm sure it hasn't been _completely_ peaceful."

"Maybe you're right. I haven't been there in a long... Come to think of it, I haven't _ever_ been there; I merely _know_ of it."

"You should visit sometime, it's got some luxurious resorts now."

"If work wasn't in the way." Ephhraim sighed, then continued, "Well, I'll see you later."

"You too."

Viran had already landed and camouflaged his Republic fighter deep in the forest, in his search for his team. It was nighttime where he was, and he knew he couldn't search for them then, so he had to wait until morning to start. He pulled up a premium Republic hologram and contacted Rye.

"There you are! Do you have any news on the team's whereabouts?" Rye asked.

"I landed in the forest and just escaped it, only to find out that it's nighttime. The trees hide a shocking amount from your eyes. Anyway, I'm afraid that I'll have to delay the start until morning."

"Understood. I'll expect a report on your next-coming evening."

"Is it afternoon there?"

"Now, you need to get proper sleep."

"Alright, fine. 'Night chief." Viran saluted sarcastically. Rye grinned, rolled his eyes, then shut off his hologram. Viran lost his playful mood as he then looked off into the distance, and started looking around, then asked, "Where might you guys have gone?"

As the night came, Exar, Aang, and Jo had set up a camp with supplies Maz gave them (after their encounter with Anson). Three tents circled a campfire, and the trio sat around the fire. There was quiet for several moments, then Jo decided to speak his mind. "Aang, you made that casino, and the rules. Why do you make such a big deal about weapons? It's a casino for crying out loud."

"Exactly. Those of higher class who spend themselves there shouldn't have that many weapons for any reason." Aang replied swiftly, raising his voice at the last three words.

Exar and Jo traded suspicious gazes, then Exar turned to Aang and asked, "Did something, involving a 'weapon carrier', happen to you?"

Aang, realizing he wouldn't win a potential arguement, confessed, "It was before I met you guys. I decided to bring my family to visit my accomplishment, and it was a lovely time." An almost non-apparent tear traced Aang's eye and chin as the memories flooded his mind. "We had a blast there. We, well, just my parents, played some of the games, earned more credits than they lost-I-" Aang fumbled around a little bit. "It was the first time in a long time that we were all happy."

...

"Then what?"

"Then a terrorist." Exar and Jo's intrigued faces beckoned Aang to continue. "A terrorist invaded... and killed my mother."

Exar and Jo were at a loss for words for a moment, then Jo asked, "Then you established the weapon rule."

"Yes. Casinos are attractions for people of several kinds. Even criminals sometimes attended them; with what I filled mine with, I was sure to lure some in. And with how disrespectful many are today, I knew they would purposefully try to break the rule."

"So the whole point was to attract criminals to a fun-house they don't know is Republic bait?" Jo asked.

"Mostly."

An awkward silence passed for several minutes. Yawns were heard every few minutes, then-

"Alright enough! Long silence among us means 'goodnight'." Jo uttered.

"Fair enough. 'Night dudes." Exar replied.

"Goodnight." Aang added.

Calista was about to retire for the night in her quarters; the second she stepped into her room, her personal hologram began to beep and she got curious. She let the transmission go through, but saw nothing. "Who's there?"

"Calista, is that you?"

"Bolen! What is it?"

"I don't have time to talk! Something's... happened on Kamino. The faction that was sent to guard the station is under attack." The stranger (to you) informed.

"By whom?"

"A demon. I haven't seen the likes of it before. It fights like a sith, and moves like a poisonous mist."

"Strange description." Calista suspected who it might be, then started asking, "Did the 'mist' take a human form? If so, what did he-"

The transmission was interrupted.

"Bolen? Bolen can you hear me?"

Buzzing was all that was heard. Becoming anxious, Calista faced her head towards the ceiling ,with her eyes closed, and whispered, "The force is with him, the force is with him, the force is with him-" And so on.

Jayko returned to the dark room, hiding the body of his and Erk's boss. Stopping in the center, he kneeled. "The plan is back on track. We will make our move shortly. The attack will surely deplete their forces, and we will come out on top."

...

Silence.

...

"Master?"

"I sense a disturbance in the force, General Jayko."

"What is it?"

"Weeks ago, I peered into the future and saw an already-shortened Republic army by this point."

... "The wraith?"

"Yes. I believe it's at fault for changing the timeline. I looked into the future after another disruption, then saw yet another change."

"What change?"

"A _successful_ attack."

"You mean we're going to win?"

"Only time will tell. Time, will tell."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

 _ **BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP *CLICK***_

Aang switched off his alarm clock, which woke the rest of the team. "Alright, guys. It's almost sunrise. We need to prepare for that, bounty hunter, dude." Aang told the team as he exited his tent.

"Got it." Exar responded, popping out of his tent, groggy and a bit frustrated.

"Why wake all three of us? You could take him on yourself." Jo pointed out, also stepping outside.

"Could, but the rules go a different way. I added some _'excitement'_ to the ritual." Aang said.

"Oh boy." Jo retorted sarcastically, while ironically stretching his metal limbs.

"Come on, Jo. You know it's a good thing when it comes to 'excitement' with Aang." Exar told him.

"Yeah right. Remember the blender incident, or the engine one? Those _practical_ ones did not turn out very well. In _what_ way could you-"

"Jo." Exar interrupted. "This is a standoff. Plenty of ways it could be exciting."

"Yeah I just realized that."

"Okay we're wasting time; the sun should be rising in a half hour." Aang stated, looking up at the brightening sky.

Viran had already woken and started on his small journey to find the trio. He went back outside the forest and looked around for a sign as to where they might be. He shielded his eyes with the macrobinoculars and zoomed in on hard-to-see places. He looked around and finally spotted a town. He put the binoculars in his handbag and took out a datapad and wrote out the coordinates of the town, according to his binoculars.

Viran then went back to his ship and hopped in. He tried turning it on, but it wouldn't. He rested his head on the headrest of his chair, closed his eyes, and grunted, "Out of fuel." He got back outside and continued 'going through his facts', "Probably would've been smart to refuel in the middle of a trip to another planet across the galaxy. I sincerely hope those three aren't getting into trouble, but then, I don't know them very well. Then again, they're teenagers."

Anson Tomas stanced himself in the middle of one end of the street, waiting for the Jedi to arrive. The sun began rising at that moment, and people started gathering along the buildings to watch the face off. Anson kept glaring forward, expecting them to appear at any second. And arrive they did, Aang leading Exar and Jo. "And here I was, thinking you'd never arrive."

"That's one thing you don't know about Jedi: we don't chicken out like that. We tend not to get ourselves into these situations in the first place."

"Yet here you are."

"You don't seem like the dim-witted type. You know we just need a ride to Coruscant."

"Not what I meant. You _could've_ avoided this. But enough of that; you know the rules. Who do you choose to participate?"

"We have to choose?!" Jo grumbled, drifting his gaze over to Aang.

"Yes." Aang whispered back. "I choose my friend, Jo." He proclaimed, stepping back and gesturing to Jo.

"Aang, I'm not okay with this."

"Just do it."

"Why am I the only one that gets selected for this kind of thing?"

"For one thing," Aang quietly replied, "You're made mostly of metal. Secondly, you didn't mind taking on those Tuskens."

"Pretty much made _half_ metal." Jo corrected, sharply emphasising the correction. He stepped up and loudly asked Anson, " **How does this work**?

"You have a blaster?"

...

"Not exactly." Jo detatched one of his arms and one of its compartments disconnected from his arm and flew up. Jo grabbed it and held it. "I got this. It can act as a blaster."

"Well, we keep our weapons at our side, we wait ten seconds, we pick them up and fire. Just hope you're quick enough to survive."

"Oh I'm sure I will." Jo said as he secretly pressed a hidden button on the probe/blaster and placed it on his belt. _'Knew that would come in handy.'_

"Clock it." Anson shouted.

A watcher on the side started a beeping countdown.

 _10_

Exar started worrying. He didn't know of Jo's blaster skills, so that poured more anxiety onto him.

 _9_

 _8_

 _7_

Aang started getting nervous.

 _6_

 _5_

 _4_

 _3_

Everyone's eyes were going from one player to another

 _2_

People covered their childrens' eyes

 _1_

 _ **DING**_

*Click* _ **BLAM**_

The crowd gasped.

Anson fell. Aang grinned as he observed Jo's strategy. Anson wasn't dead, just stunned. Jo picked his arm up and put it back together and on his arm.

"Yeah I forgot to mention this doesn't involve killing." Aang said to Exar, who lightly hit him on his shoulder.

"Well we won, but how are we going to find his ship?"

"If you enter my 'Republic trap', you will be registered, and that information includes where their ship is parked. So if anyone does anything wrong, we'll know where to find them."

"You wouldn't have that problem if you'd inject trackers within people."

"Wellllll-"

" **No**!" Exar recoiled with a somewhat disgusted face.

"Relax, I'm kid-" Aang started laughing, "I'm kidding. I just-" He interrupted himself, still laughing, "You should've seen your face just now." His laughter died down and he turned and whistled loudly, then the head of security approached them and handed Aang the registration list. Aang scrolled through and found: _Tomas, Anson - Parked in docking bay 23_.

"Well then. Let's move."

"Hold up, do you not have them show their background? Some of them could be criminals." Jo spoke his thought.

"Oh we have them do that, it's just on a separate file. Those who have broken any law... we inject a tracker."

Exar hit Aang on the arm again. "That's totally wrong, dude. I hope you take them out later."

"We do. But the process is painful."

"We gotta talk later."

By the next morning on Coruscant, Rye, Erickson, and Garm were almost finished preparing the fleet for the attack. Overnight, Rye had some workers buy needed parts to fully refresh the ships; by morning, they were practically finished. Erickson then had Ephraim summon Calista for the final report and new orders. They were one-hundred percent complete by the time she had arrived, and she was greeted by the Jedi and the workers.

"By the organization of the room, and the grit of the workers, I assume you have completed the preparations for the attack?" Calista asked with expectation.

"Indeed, your honor." Rye and Erickson briefly bowed their heads, to which Calista chuckled.

"Well then, Senator Garm Iblis, assemble your men and prepare for the battle." Calista ordered.

"Yes ma'am." And Garm went right to it.

"Though, your highness, what of my team? I was hoping we could wait for them so they could be a part of this." Rye asked as everyone started scattering.

"I understand your concern, but we can't wait. With all we know, they could be heading here for another attack right now. And if we lose, at least they will be fine. My point is: if we wait, _they_ will most likely gain an upper hand."

Rye hesitantly nodded in agreement, then said, "I'll contact Viran."

"Those three were here yesterday; they headed into town right before sunset to look for a pilot who could take them back to Coruscant. And by the looks of it, they got one." Maz informed Viran as she showed him a holographic picture, from the news, of Jo facing off Anson. Maz slid her finger across the screen and next showed a picure of Anson passed out on the ground and the team was gathered around each other. Maz turned it off and said, "I guess you should hurry if you want to catch them. Your starfighter should be refueled by now."

"Alright. Thank you," He muttered _'Excuse me'_ , almost forgetting her name, "Maz." Maz nodded and silently chuckled. "Oh. Something really important-"

"They have the holocron." Maz interrupted, raising her hand.

Then, Viran's holographic communicator beeped and he picked it up and activated it. Rye appeared again. "What is it?"

"Any progress finding the team? Preparations are complete and the attack will start soon."

Viran started to panic, then calmly answered, "No. But I know where they are. They're in a nearby town, getting a ride off the planet. I might be able to catch them in time."

"Nearby?"

"Yes."

Viran saw Rye paused for a moment. He shook the hologram around, wondering if it was broken. "It's not broken, Viran. Just the easiest solution was avoided."

"What is that?"

"Communicate with them, using what you're using now."

Viran mentally kicked himself, then replied, "On it." Then shut off the hologram.

"I was waiting for you to think of that in our conversation about contacting people a short distance away." Maz said. Viran grinned and quietly laughed in response.

Viran tried contacting the team, and succeeded. He heard the buzzing on the other end, and heard Exar's voice from the other side, "Exar Sunrider here."

"Exar, I need you to tell your team-"

"What _kshksh_ saying? We _kshkshkshkshksh_ -nals here for some reason. Try somewhere el _kshkshkshksh_ \- *pop*

"They have a bad signal, I better hurry. Goodbye Maz."

"Farewell, Jedi Master Viran."

Viran started out the door and hopped into his luckily, fully refueled fighter. He quickly turned on the engine and lifted off slowly. "I'm coming guys. Stay out of trouble."

Geez, he really doesn't know them.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

The trio was on their way to docking bay 23, but they had stopped when Viran contacted them. Exar tried talking to him, Jo had the crate, which left Aang to carry Anson on his shoulder.

"Ah! Viran just contacted us, what was he gonna say?" Exar asked himself.

"Maybe we should wait for him?" Aang suggested.

"No. We have to go back to Coruscant while we still have the holocron and-" Jo cut himself off.

"And... what?"

 _'Well it's not really a big deal.'_ Jo thought as he -with one hand- reached inside his cloak and pulled out the chip that fell from Erk.

"What's that?"

"It's a computer chip I found next to Erk. It came out of him at one point during our fight so I just held on to it. Who knows what could be in here?" Jo looked up to his team and saw their unhappy faces, then continued, "I can tell by the looks on your unhappy faces that you're wondering why I didn't tell you I had this. Well simple: I could get neither the time nor the proper moment to tell you. So I knew if I implied that there was something else important, that we need to get to the Republic, I could finally tell you instead of keeping it a secret like Exar did with the existence of Erk."

"That was kind of unecessary, Jo. That was water under the bridge."

"But Jo, for all we know, it could be a tracker of sorts. I know of that kind of trap."

"Well they don't need a tracker to know Coruscant is where we'll be."

"He's got a point _there_." Exar said.

Aang was distracted, feeling some sort of movement in the force. _'It's literal movement.'_ Then Aang spun around, emitted his lightsaber, and deflected several shots that barged his way. _'This galaxy really likes attempted sneak attacks.'_ "Guys, take cover... And take Anson." Aang commanded, realizing he had dropped Anson when he turned to deflect.

Jo picked up Anson, and Exar covered him from fire. More blasts came their way, and Exar observed that there were two sources for the lasers. Jo and Exar reached cover, and Jo laid Anson down.

" _ **AANG**_!" Jo shouted over the blaster fire and lightsaber deflections. Aang turned his head to Jo briefly, to let him know he was listening " _ **MACROBINOCULARS**_!" With one of his extra arms, Aang took out the binoculars and threw them to Jo. He threw a little too high, and Jo had to jump to catch them. Jo quickly sat back down to avoid being shot when he caught them. "Exar, cover me, again." Exar ignited his lightsaber and lifted himself off the ground so he could protect Jo.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it quickly." Exar told him.

Jo looked into the macrobinoculars and looked to the sources. He saw two figures on top of a hangar bay. One was laying flat and the other was kneeling. One was covered in rags, like a Tusken Raider, and was sniping; the other was a Duros. The Duros was covered mostly; Jo could only make out a big hat and a trench coat, and that made him recoil slightly, then he smiled and started laughing. He jumped on top of the crates he was hiding behind and started waving wildly, catching the shooters' attentions.

" _ **JO**_! _**GET DOWN**_!" Aang shouted.

The Duros saw Jo and put his fist up, signalling the other to stop firing. He activated boot jets and started flying over, his friend following with a jetpack. They came over and landed in the presence of the team. Aang and Exar retracted their blades, but remained on alert. "Jo?" The Duros questioned.

"Juntah?" Jo questioned back. They started getting happy and gave each other a bro-hug. "How long has it been?"

"Who knows. Years. Hey did you get new armor?"

"Yeah, it's a recent development."

*Ahem*

Jo turned to Aang and Exar. "Oh. Guys, meet Juntah Bane."

 _'Bane? I figured that look was familiar.'_ Aang then asked, "So what's going on? You guys know each other, but they were just trying to kill us."

"Oh, sorry. I guess it was a misunderstanding of sorts. We just saw you carrying our unconscious friend on your shoulders and thought you kidnapped him, so you know. Instinct."

"It was a part of a deal. He broke a rule, so he and Jo participated in a standoff. Jo won, using a stun blast, don't worry; we agreed that if Jo won, he would let us use his ship to get us back to the Republic capitol, Coruscant."

Just then, Anson started getting up behind the crates, rubbing his head.

"Well speak of my limbs, there he is." Jo said.

Anson saw the team, and his team, then sighed.

"Hello Anson. Causing trouble again? I didn't think that was a part of your errand." Juntah said.

"Trouble wasn't part of the plan." Anson said. "Nice to see you guys in good shape."

"Well I don't believe I met you." Jo said, pointing to the rag-man.

"That's Sim Lankost. He doesn't talk much. He's not silent all the time, he's just one of those snipers that likes to stay hidden a lot. It's a practice he does a lot." Juntah explained.

"Pleased to meet a friend of one of mine." Sim said, nodding his head.

"I'm Jo. The Zabrak is Exar, and the Besalisk is Aang. We're a team."

"Much like us I suppose?" Juntah compared.

"Except you're not force-sensitive." Jo replied, both of them laughing shortly after.

"It's going to be good for you guys to catch up, but we're kind of in a rush to complete an urgent mission."

"Alright. The hangar bay is right there. My ship is inside." Anson said, pointing ahead to his hangar bay.

On Coruscant, everyone had boarded their ships, outside the capitol building, and were ready to take off. Rye, Erickson, Ephraim, and Calista watched everyone before they took off.

"We all ready?" Rye asked into his radio headset and heard everyone reply with either _'Aye!'_ or _'Everything's accounted for, sir.'_

"Alright then. Let's take off." Rye said. Everyone put on extremely protective headphones on to protect their ears from the booms that came; the booms got louder as the ships, one-by-one, lifted off and ascended. The ships were high enough that the noise wasn't dangerous, so Rye and everyone else could remove their headphones.

"Now excuse us your honor," Rye said to Calista, "We've got some new-Imperial butt to kick."

"Do so with pleasure."

"No plans on doing otherwise." Ephraim said.

"Glad to hear it. Now get going, quickly."

"You heard her, let's go." Rye said as he pushed Erickson and Ephraim to their ships. "Now, may the force be with us."

Viran landed in town, near the area where he saw the team on the video. He entered the casino and stopped by a guard and asked, "Excuse me, when did you last see these three?"

"Last I saw them, they were headed to docking bay 23. Better hurry if you want to catch them."

"Alright. Thanks."

"No problem."

Viran exited the casino and quickly jumpe dinto his ship and hurried, taking off and looking for docking bay 23. He contacted Rye to inform him of the good news. An image of Rye appeared, sitting down.

"Rye, I'm on them. They're headed for docking bay 23, and I'm not far behind."

"Excellent, Viran. And you may want to hurry; the attack is commencing now."

Then, a shadow came over Viran's ship. Viran looked up and saw a gray and red _Delta_ -class T-3c shuttle. He saw it move ahead and turn around, facing his ship.

"Viran?" Rye asked, noticing Viran's somewhat surprised face. Viran just twisted the hologram around so Rye could see. "Viran, I can't see. The hologram's range isn't that big."

"Oh, well, I just found them. And it looks like they've got a ride back to Coruscant." Viran said, seeing Jo wave at him from the shuttle.

"Alright. Hurry."

Aang had the ship open up its cargo bay doors so Viran could hop in.

"What of your ship?" Aang asked as Viran entered.

"It's got a hyperdrive, and I had it set to auto-pilot. It's going back to Coruscant." Viran said as he set coordinates to Coruscant and synced them to his fighter. His ship then closed its canopy and flew off to Coruscant. The cargo bay doors then closed. "Now, we have a battle to attend to." Viran said.

"Hold up, what?" Anson asked.

"Oh! Who might you be?" Viran asked.

Jo decided to introduce them, "Master Viran, these are new friends of ours: Juroden Bane, I've known him for a little while; Sim Lankost, good with a sniping gun and doesn't talk much; and Anson Tomas-"

"Oh I've seen _him_ before. Maz showed me a video of you shooting him down."

...

"I _stunned_ him down."

"Anyway, Jedi, with me." Viran nodded his head towards the back. Anson took over piloting. Viran had everyone sit down in a circle in the back, and made sure they were quiet in the conversation. "Have you kept the holocron safe?" Viran asked quietly.

"We have." Jo said, pulling the crate from behind him.

"Jo, for a second I thought you left it back on the surface, because I didn't see you carrying it any time after you beat Anson."

"It's all about misdirection." Jo said.

"Kinda cool." Exar complemented.

"Did anything else happen?"

Jo looked at Exar and Aang for their approval. They both nodded, and Jo pulled out the chip he got from Erk. "I picked this up near Erk around our battle."

Viran grabbed it before anyone else saw it and closely observed. "This is an information chip, Jo. We may gain an advantage with this. Good work."

"Gettin' some Republic work done back there?" Anson asked.

"Yeah. Kinda classified."

"But we're heading into battle, you say. I am going to need to be filled in."

"Any friend of any friend of mine is trustworthy." Jo defended.

"You see a latch on the wall behind you, the adult." Anson asked. Viran turned and saw it. "Pull that out, and there will be a holoprojector, a keyboard, and a chip slot for that chip you have."

Jo stifled a laugh. "Well, _that_ worked."

"These guys are pretty good. They might make good allies."

"And we were all against the First Order, and we're not so fond of the new Imperial imposters. So if that's what we're up against, then we want in on it." Juntah said.

"Very well." Viran said as he put the chip into the slot of the holoprojector he had already pulled out. Then a list of information poured out onto the screen.

"Oh-ho-ho-hooo. Jackpot." Exar grinned.

"This is recent activity. Look." Aang pointed to the folder, second closest to the top. "Attack on the Republic number two."

"Open it." Jo said. Viran did so, and started reading through the info. Then his eyes widened.

"What is it?" Exar asked.

"The Republic is moving into a trap. Spying cameras caught Imperial vehicles coming from a certain direction earlier, which is the path the Republic is going to try to find them. But it was meant to _seem_ like that."

"So the Imperial vehicles could've arrived from a different point, but didn't because they wanted to be noticed going from a different direction, which is where the said trap is going to be?" Aang asked, starting to panic.

"We need to send this to Rye, quickly."

"On it."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

"So how do I know we can trust you?" Viran asked Anson. Despite trusting his team, Viran had doubts with picking up bounty hunter-like strangers along the way. Jo had told him of what happened in the casino, about Anson's curiosity of what the crate held within, and that sparked some unsettlement inside. Viran just had to know.

"Well, Master Jedi, I'm not a bad guy."

"Not convincing enough."

"You heard what my friend Juntah said? We were against the First Order, we hated it and its tyranny. Any enemy of theirs is surely good."

"I'm understanding your point, but it doesn't completely answer the question. I was informed of your curiosity of the artifact in the crate, and all I need to know is that you won't turn on us and take the crate for yourself. You see what I mean?"

"Yeah sure. I doubt we'd do any good against four Jedi."

"You do seem well-equipped." Viran paused for a moment, then had to ask, "How do you pilot this ship with that bandanna over your face?"

"Oh I almost forgot I had it on!" Anson then pulled it down and adjusted his eyes to the light setting. He looked fairly young, but showed signs of nearing adulthood. He had thick sideburns on the side of his face, but had neither a moustache nor a beard. He had thin eyebrows and fixated eyes which told everyone that he meant business; his cheekbones were slightly rounded, which helped his cowboy-like appearence. " The bandanna doesn't blind me. So what is it, about whatever is in that crate, that is so secret anyway?"

"Let's just say if it got into the wrong hands, the galaxy would soon be gone."

"Ah. _That_ important I see."

"Pretty much."

Jo and Juntah were busy catching up on their adventures of the past few years. "How did you survive the explosion?" Juntah asked Jo, as Jo recalled the end of his first adventure.

"Oh, the force was with me, and all that."

"And what did you do afterwards?"

"Well, I met some Jedi masters, as well as the team I'm currently with, and things have pretty much been the same ever since. Actually-"

"What kind of missions have you been on?"

"Well, things were pretty normal, neutralizing threats, remnants of the First Order and stuff. A couple years later, we heard rumors that sith might be returning to the galaxy, people started getting paranoid over it; we set out to diminish the rumors once and for all."

"I see the rumors were true."

"What do you mean?"

"If _'the Empire'_ is back, a sith has to be in charge, right?" Juntah pointed out.

"Worse. _Two_."

"There's always two. With this many Jedi on your side, success should be yours."

Jo's face dropped.

"I have a feeling I'm completely wrong."

"Days ago, maybe a week, I lost track; anyway, sometime within the past month, we faced one of the sith, and... and we lost. Basically, the only thing we won was our keeping our lives."

"Is that why you have new armor? What kind of sith could best three Jedi like _that_?"

"A kind that was kept secret."

"What?"

"My friend Exar, knew of his existence, and kept it from us this whole time."

"That sounds stupid."

"It was stupid. He did it because he didn't want a demotion."

"Let me guess, he got one anyway?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we all have our flaws. I'm sure you guys _get along_ well."

"Eh, kinda."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, these past few years have been exciting, but something feels out of place."

"Go on."

"Like I feel left out. I talk to these guys often, but I don't say very much. I get left out of conversation, and don't get acknowledged often. They don't pay as much attention to everyone equally, than they do to a mission."

"You're lonely."

"Most of the time, but the missions are exciting and are just the thing I need to get set straight."

"Well you shouldn't have to worry about _that_ anymore."

"As in?" Jo pressed on, smiling.

"You know what I mean." Juntah said as they fist bumped.

"We could always use new recruits. Things are getting more dangerous around this time."

Exar and Aang, seeing Jo and Viran talking to two of the new guys, decided to do the same for Sim. Sim was sitting down, seemingly meditating in the back of the ship, above the cargo bay. Exar and Aang sat down ahead of him and took notice of his meditative position.

"Yes?" Sim inquired silently.

"Are you a Jedi?" Exar asked.

"No. But I _am_ force-sensitive. I'm not too big on that kind of Jedi stuff; my speciality is with guns and blasters, not so much the force."

"You are pretty strong with the force, though." Aang said.

"I let the force flow within me, let it fuel me, but I don't use it. I've heard stories of people who use this power for evil; I am not going to let myself fall down that path. My life is alright the way it is."

"Ever considered joining the Republic?" Exar asked.

"Only once. It wouldn't help with my stealth feature."

"The force could. I know of a power of which, that allows you to cloak your presence so not even _sith_ can sense where you are."

"What about that strange mind trick?"

"No, that doesn't work on other force-sensetives. It takes quite a bit of training to master." Aang answered.

"Especially if you have a robotic arm. Things get _really_ hard then." Exar said.

"Oh don't I know it."

"You have a metallic limb?" Aang asked, curiously.

"No, I was joking."

"A sense of humor. Wow! You could be good friends with Jo." Aang said.

"Does _he_ have metallic limbs?"

...

"I'm joking."

Aang and Exar shook their heads, smiling.

"I sensed distress within you two. Nothing a little humor can't fix."

Jayko took his helmet off to meditate in his room of his star destroyer. Keeping the wraith in mind, he focused on it, wondering how to dispose of it so it won't get in the way of any of his plans. Suddenly, he fell into a trance.

Jayko found himself to be inside a void of swirling and spinning clouds. He figured some kind of hint would be dropped here. And his wish was granted. He saw a dark, dark cloud forming a human shape. Then it started expanding and growing, Jayko becoming more afraid as he saw cold, evil, blood-red glowing eyes peer straight into his. As it continued to grow, it launched forward at Jayko and surrounded him until he woke. Jayko had fallen to the ground, somewhat shaken by what he just experienced, and still sensed it wasn't over yet.

The room started to crumble and tear apart, and started to swirl around; Jayko then saw a hooded figure on his knees in front of a huge pile of debris, and saw fire in the sky. Then a blizzard came and overtook the scene, then also faded as he saw a smoke-infested field of gray, rocky terrain, and a building crumbling down in flames.

Then it all went to black...

Jayko was confused with the indistinct clues, and with where he was. He looked ahead and saw a red star in the distance. He kept his eyes on it as it approached him; as it got closer, he saw it shape itself into a pyramind, with gold outlines.

"A holocron?" Jayko quietly asked.

 _'Find me.'_ Jayko heard, startling him. He looked around for a source of the voice. He saw nothing, just blackness. He looked back at the holocron and reached out to take it. But his hand phased through it, and he returned to reality.

He awoke in his original meditative position, unsettled. He picked up his helmet and placed it on his head. "Contact Erk." He said into his helmet. After hearing some beeping sounds, Erk's face appeared on the screen.

"I finished the Kamino mission; no Republic forces occupy that Imperial gold-mine now. I am headed to you now."

"Erk, I have a new mission for you."

"Another one huh?"

"I need you to find a holocron. A sith holocron." Jayko saw Erk's eyes widen slightly, then continued. "But first, get back to base. I'll brief you after the attack."

"Got it."

 _Transmission, ended._

Jayko went deep into thought as he pondered his vision. He didn't know who was the cause of the wraith, nor did he know why it seemed like it had to get involved with what they did. He didn't have the knowledge to complete his thoughts, but he did know who did. He sauntered off to resolve his predicament.

In hyperspace, on road to the set coordinates of where the Republic thought the base was, Rye contacted Erickson and Ephraim, having taken a different ship than they did, to fill them in. Once he could clearly see them both, he began, "Now first off: I'm sure I'm the only one familiar with this type of battle. Erickson, brother, you've been somewhat aloof from the knowledge of war. Ephraim, you've been a mechanic your whole life."

"Oh wow, really?" Ephraim asked.

"Yeah. I really don't know that much. A recent trip to Kamino was actually where I participated in my first lethal battle. With stormtroopers."

"So." Rye brought the focus back. "We're dealing with Imperial ships. One would think that they're easy to take care of; but, this faction is being led by two sith, one of which almost tore my team apart, so we're going to have to be very careful."

"Brother?" Erickson then said, worry all over his tone. "Are we going to _face_ the sith?"

"My brother, we are."

"Rye, Rye, are you sure about this?"

"Yes. Two masters against one sith. What could go-"

"We could die. Sure our team isn't as poweful as the sith, or us, but who's to say not even _we_ can beat him?"

"Well if he is more powerful, then let's hope he isn't there." Rye said.

"Guys! Guys!" Aang shouted from the cargo bay. Exar and Jo were down in an instant.

"What is it?" Exar asked.

"I've established a connection to Master Rye."

"While in hyperspace? That's impressive."

"I thought the only way for that to happen is for us to be getting closer to them."

"Well luckily, we are." Aang said, activating the hologram. Soon, Rye appeared.

"Aang! Are you and everyone else alright?"

"We are, master. We have Master Viran and a couple new recruits."

"Oh do you? Well, we're on our way to ambush the Imperials-"

"Yeah, about that, you're flying right into a trap."

"Pardon?"

"It was set up to look like they were coming from another direction so you would later follow that trail and fall into a trap. Before anything happens, I'll send the information to you." Aang pressed a button and the information was sent. "Also, we're nearing your position so we'll be in the fight shortly."

"Good to hear. I just got the informa- oh! We better stop. I'll contact the other ships and tell them to pull out of hyperspace."

"Got it." Then the transmission ended.

"We're coming out of hyperspace!" Anson shouted from above.

The trio were in the cockpit, looking out the window shortly after they emerged. And shortly after _that_ , they saw the fleet of Republic ships emerge as well.

"Well well, what are the odds?" Juntah asked.

"On our side is what they are. Let's hope it stays that way."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

"Sir, we're coming out of hyperspace." An Imperial officer proclaimed to Jayko as they neared their destination.

...

"Sir?"

Jayko was present in the bridge, but he was unresponsive. "I sense movement in the force." He said. He thought for a moment, then concluded his thoughts with, _'The wraith! No!'_ "Commander, pull out of hyperspace _**now**_! Tell the fleet to follow!" And the commander hastely did so.

Soon, the star destroyers all emerged from hyperspace in deep space, not a planet in sight. Jayko rushed up to the window and looked around. _'Well nothing's around. Did we get away?'_ He waited, then thought, _'We did.'_ And at that instant, all the Republic ships surfaced in sight, shocking Jayko greatly.

The Republic ships immediately started firing and dispatching fighters forward. "Deploy every fighter we have and fire all we've got!" Jayko commanded. Then battalions of TIEs, V-Wings, Y-Wings, and A-Wings were launched out into space, all firing at each other.

"We're coming out of hyperspace?" Aang wondered.

"Yes, I just said that. Here we go. Three... two... now!" Anson said as he pulled the ship out of lightspeed. And they then saw the initiating attack, the star destroyers and Correlian shuttles, the Republic "wings" and Imperial TIEs.

"Woah." Jo said. "Cool." He felt everyone's faces on him. "I hope we win." He then added.

"Have you never been in a big space battle before?" Anson asked.

"Well a few days ago, I participated in one like this, but it was not _nearly_ as large as _this_." Jo replied.

"I see."

Aang went forward and activated the comm system to contact Rye. "Team, is that you?" They heard.

"It is. We're in the odd-looking, old Imperial shuttle."

"I see you. Board the command vessel, we have your starfighters."

"Understood." Then Aang stopped and pointed to the command vessel. "Get us there."

Anson quickly piloted the ship through the edge of the battle field, and docked with the ship. Aang, Jo, and Exar dashed out and were met by the ship maintenance crew chief.

"Are you three alright?" The crew chief asked.

"We're all good. Where are our ships?" Exar replied.

"They're al right there." The crew chief pointed along the wall, where their three ships were lined up. "We've completely refueled and repaired everything according to Lieutenant Governor Calfan's orders."

"Good for us." Aang said as he gestured the team to follow along to their ships. As quickly as they had arrived, they had hopped in and joined the battle; Anson followed along. The trio flew up by the bridge and looked throught the window and saw Rye. Rye saw them salute -while grinning at him too- and he couldn't help but salute back with a laugh. The three fighters went down to join the battle.

Jayko saw the newcomers enter the field, then said, "I know those ships." He acquired his macrobinoculars and observed the pilots when he could. " _Those_ are the Jedi!"

"Hello boys! We're baaaaaaaaaack!" Jo shouted as he started blasting at TIEs all over.

"Concentrate all fire from this ship to those three fighters." Jayko said. "The bland gray ball, and the old, old-Republic-looking ones."

"Yes sir."

Aang and Exar had to quickly avert their positions to avoid getting blasted. " _Jo_! _Watch out_!" They both shouted through their comm system.

"Wha- Woah!" Jo barely avoided the blast that came his way, then continued to avoid several more.

" _Hey guys_ , _anyone else notice any special features installed in our ships_?" Exar asked.

" _Like what_?"

" _Enhanced shields_?"

"We got what?! That's aweso- watch out!" Jo continued flying around the lasers. "Hey guys, ever notice something strange about these battles? Space has no atmosphere, no air; there should be no sound in space, yet we hear the blasts and explosions."

" _That is weird_."

"I guess someone thought it'd be boring, and decided to add sound."

" _Jo_ , _**what**_ _are you talking about- WHOO_ " Exar asked, blasting down three TIEs in a second.

"I'm saying, certain things are... messed..." Jo mouthed the word 'up', sensing another sith presence. _'Why this again?'_ He thought for a moment _'Ben's son!'_ "Guys! Ben Solo's son is onboard the lead destroyer."

"Worry about the dozens of TIEs targeting us right now." Aang said.

"TOO LATE!" Aang and Exar looked over and saw that Jo's ship was shot and that it was leaking. "I'M GOING ABOOOOOOOOOOOARD!"

"We're right behind you!" Exar shouted as he and Aang followed Jo to the star destroyer. Jo pulled up just in time as to not crash into the docking bay. Exar and Aang quickly landed beside him. All three of them jumped out at the same time.

"Jo you alright?" Aang asked.

"Um, yeah, but right now..." Jo pointed ahead in the docking bay, to the stormtroopers piling into the bay. The whole team was not only shocked, but worried as well. Stormtroopers stopped coming as fifty had entered the room.

"I thought we'd taken care of these guys on Kamino."

"Apparently not. We were too late."

"Well let's get this over with." Exar said, stepping up as the troopers cocked their guns.

A commander stepped up and ordered, "Stay where you are, or we'll fire."

"Fire all you want." Exar said, slamming his hands on the ground and creating a force repulse, pushing half the brigade to the ceiling and back down.

Then the rest started firing. Jo flew up with his lightwhips emitted. Aang quickly ignited his lightsabers and defended himself and Exar. "Exar, what was that?"

"It's the metal arm! I'm not used to using the force with a prosthetic."

"Well get your lightsaber and fight."

"Right." Exar pulled out his blade and helped deflect the lasers back at the troopers.

Jo took out a grenade from a slab on one of his arms and threw it down. One of the stormtroopers spotted it in time and shot it in mid-air, knocking Jo off balance and to the ground. "I forgot who these guys were clones of, for a second."

The fight was short; nothing too different happened throughout the fight. In due time, the room had been disposed of stormtroopers. The team briefly rejoiced. "That's record time." Jo exclaimed.

"Don't get excited, yet. There's still an entire battle to win." Aang reminded.

"Where do we start, though?" Exar asked.

"Let's go where the force takes us."

"That's 'Aang' wrapped up in one line. Speaking of which, why did invincibility cross the road?" He waited a moment, " 'Cause Aang was over there."

"Really Jo?"

Jayko -standing in the bridge- heard not the battle, but gave his attention to the force. Ever since Anson's ship arrived, Jayko had sensed a shift in the force. Not a shift, but a presence. A presence of not a person, but an object, an artifact. "The holocron is here. Ha! Erk would never have seen that coming. But who has it?"

"Sir?" The star destroyer's commander announced his attendance. "A Jedi trio just wiped out one of our best squads in one of our docking bays."

" _They_ have it." Jayko said. And with a swish of his cape, he immediately turned and headed out. As he strided out, he was followed by two bulky and heavily armored troopers.

 **{See chapter on Archive of Our own to see the design [which I own no rights to (this is a fanfiction)] I use for the heavy armor troopers}**

"If you see anything, alert me immediately." Jayko ordered.

"Yes sir."

Rye felt, what he would call, a disturbance. He too sensed the holocron, and wasn worried. He commed Jo and immediately said, "Jo! Answer!"

" _There was nothing to answer to, master_. _What is it_?"

"You have the holocron?"

" _Yes_."

"Where is it?"

...

"Jo? Where is the holocron?"

" _I_... _think I may have left it on our new friend's ship_."

Then, Rye heard other voices on the other side. " _What_?! _Jo why didn't you give it to the Republic forces when we got our starfighters_?"

"It didn't occur to me. I was in the heat of the moment of being back in Republic arms, you know?"

"Well as long as Anson's on our side, we won't have any problems."

"Think again, Jedi." Jayko said maniacally. The Jedi jumped and Jo clipped his comlink to his belt. They watched his bulky guards step up and activate their electrostaffs. "You will never escape me." Jayko then said, activating his red lightsaber.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 12

Aang, Exar, and Jo instantly had their lightsabers ignited yet again, facing their new threat. "Who are you?" Jo asked.

"I am Jayko Ren, son of Kylo Ren."

"His name is Benjamin Solo, Mr. Jayko Solo."

Jayko rolled his eyes under his helmet. "If you think using that name to annoy me, therefore making me falter in our fight, will make you win, you're dead wrong."

 _'Dang. He's good.'_ Jo thought.

"Now," Jayko said, taking a few steps and stopping, "Where were we?" He asked. "Ah, yes. Seize them. The master requests they be alive."

 _'Master?'_ The trio wondered.

The two big guards ran forward at them and swung down hard, creating craters in the ground where they hit. The trio swiftly dodged the attack and swung their lightsabers at their arms, but only scratched it.

"Well this is gonna be a problem." Jo said.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Aang replied.

 _'Oh come on! I wasn't talking to you.'_ Jo complained to himself.

Exar charged at Jayko and lunged his blade forward; Jayko stepped aside, used his lightsaber to knock Exar's away, and kicked Exar, making him slide off balance.

"Oh this is gonna be fun." Jayko laughed.

Exar stood up straight and drifted his eyes aside, sensing Jayko's moves. He turned, swung his lightsaber around with speed, posed, and ignited his second blade. Exar dashed forward -slightly jumping- and spun around, surprising Jayko with a hard kick. Jayko stumbled back, clutching his chest and breathing heavily.

"Impressive." Jayko complimented.

"Boy, you ain't seen nothin' yet." Exar said, taunting him with two fingers, challenging him.

Anson flew around in space with Republic fighters, blasting TIE Fighters into pieces. "Man I hope our friends come through." He said.

"Uh, dude?" Juntah called from behind.

"What?" Anson turned his head and saw the crate Jo had with him.

"They left their crate."

Anson was distracted at the moment. He had been wondering what was in the crate, and with none of the Jedi around, he could have Juntah open it and have a peek. _'No. We're in the middle of a mission. Besides, I lost the wager.'_ Yet he was still tempted.

"You need to stay focused, Anson." Sim said.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you want to know what's inside the crate."

"Well, kinda. But I'm not the kind of person that sneaks behind somone's back to do something that I basically agreed not to do."

"Yet still you want to know."

"What can I say? A bounty hunter gets curious."

"Indeed. Turn the ship."

Anson turned, and luckily missed a shot a TIE sent to them. "Woah, what?"

"The force helps in many ways, but it can corrupt just as easily."

"Okay now I'm worried."

"Ha ha."

" _You there_ , _I'm seeing some nice flying_." Rye commed them.

"Who is this?"

" _I'm helping lead the Republic attack_. _Master Rye_ , _you can call me_."

"You a friend of Jo?" Juntah asked.

" _Well yes_ , _I contacted you earlier when the Jedi were with you_."

"Is there a point to all this?" Anson asked.

" _Yes_ , _right_. _How well can you fight in person_?"

"Pretty well, why?" Anson asked, dodging and blasting more TIEs.

" _If you can fight in person_ , _go ahead and join the other Jedi_. _We can handle everything out here_."

"Not a chance. So far, I'm loving blasting these guys out of existence."

" _What weapon systems do you have_? _Could they be used against star destroyers_?"

"Oh yeah."

-Aang and Jo-

Aang and Jo were using all the strength and agility they had to survive the two mega-guards. Aang was using hiis lightsaber to dodge blaster fire and used the force and all the strength in his arms to push the mega-guard's arm away. Jo whipped at their arms, the guard simply smacking them away, surely leaving dents and scratches in his armor.

Aang swung his lightsaber around and jabbed at his stomach, leaving an effect on him. The guard stumbled back. He gave Jo a glance and shouted, "Their stomachs are their weak spots!" He then swung his lightsaber around and went for it again.

"Guards, you know what to do." Jayko said, blocking attacks from Exar.

Suddenly, blocks of metal formed around the guards' hands and any exposed area on their armor started glowing. Then they started fighting at a faster pace. Aang and Jo were forced to back up.

Exar took notice as his blade was held down by Jayko's. "No!" Exar reached out to try to do something with the force, but was pushed down by Jayko. He was putting more and more pressure on Exar's lightsaber, as he pushed with two hands; Exar was only holding up with his mechanical arm while his other was pinned down by Jayko's metal boot.

"You're _not_ going to win!" Jayko growled.

Exar watched as the guards got the better of his team, knocking them down and sending their lightsabers out of reach.

"You're no match for the dark side!" Jayko added.

Aang and Jo prepared for the guards' quick-coming final blow as they raised their fists above their heads and swung down. Then, electricity spewed out everywhere, attacking the guards and making them stumble down. Aang and Jo looked up and saw Exar standing above Jayko, who was without his helmet, on his back, and crawling backwards. Only, Exar's eyes were -again- green and misty. "Oh no." Aang muttered fearfully.

Mirtis had both ends of his lightsaber ignited, and was creeping up to Jayko, slowly spinning his blades around with intent to scare Jayko. Once Jayko had backed up to the wall, Mirtis raised his arm to strike him down.

"Exar!" Mirtis turned and growled.

"You of all should know who I really am." The multi-voice said.

"I do. And it's _not_ this."

"It _is_ me." Mirtis said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jayko attempting to move out of the way to escape, but Mirtis sucker-punched him with his metal arm, knocking him unconscious. "I was born this way. Exar Sunrider was a result of the light side invading my mind."

" _ **Your**_ mind. Yes! That's you. You are Exar and -hate to say it- Mirtis."

"What's your point, Jedi?"

"Exar was not this monster I see before my eyes. He wouldn't want to take a life the way you were about to. That's not how we let our enemies die. Just leave him here and we can all leave without getting blood on our hands."

Mirtis's expression seemed unimpressed, then he said, "I like my idea better." He then raised his lightsaber to strike Jayko, but Jo had already knocked _him_ unconscious... again.

 _'Master Rye to Aang. Repeat: Master Rye to Aang. Do you copy?'_ Rye called via comlink.

"Aang here." Aang replied. He looked at Jo and mouthed, 'Get Exar and let's go.'

 _'The mission is close to success. Where are you?'_

"We're onboard the lead star destroyer; our mission is successful, and we're heading back."

 _'Already?'_

"Yeah, why?"

"Because we came to help." Juntah spoke up, startling the Jedi. There stood Juntah, Sim, and Anson.

"Oh, glad you're here. Take Exar to the ship." Jo said, giving Exar to Juntah.

"Did things get too complicated?" Anson asked.

"Almost. And judging by the boom I just heard, we should be going." Aang suggested.

"Good idea." Anson said as they all started running.

"Man, where are all the stormtroopers?" Jo asked, looking around.

"We took 'em out." Anson answered.

"Nice!"

The attack outside was closing to an end; several TIEs, Republic fighters, some star destroyers, and Corellian cruisers were gone. Things were looking up for the Republic, so Rye, Ephraim, and Erickson had their ships focus all fire on the last three star destroyers. "Master Rye to Aang, the lead star destroyer is about to go down, get out of there!"

 _'We're in our docking bay, and on our way. Just try not to shoot us.'_

"What have I told you about 'trying'?"

The transmission ended before a reply came.

"Hello?"

The crew entered Anson's ship quickly. "Everyone buckle up!" Anson shouted.

"Wait! We have ships. Take Exar."

Sim dragged Exar up to a chair and strapped him in. Aang hopped into Exar's starfighter and turned it on. He hovered above the ground and quickly attatched the other two fighters to the side of Exar's. All ships in the bay sped out into space. They luckily avoided most of the baster fire that came their way; Anson's ship got clipped in the back and a hole opened up, creating a vacuum into space. Everyone was holding on for their life, except for Exar who was safely strapped. It took Anson a lot of strength to get the ship into the docking bay of the main Republic ship. Once they landed, the team quickly scurried out of their ships and met in the bay.

"You guys alright? We saw your ship get shot." Aang asked hastefully.

"We're all okay." Anson said as he was dragging Exar out.

"Jo, I sincerely hope you didn't give him a concussion."

"Relax, I control my punches."

"Alright, well let's get Exar to a table -poor guy- and meet with the leaders."

"Okay! Man, this has been a somewhat good day."

"Indeed, we may have just stopped a war."

"That's what we thought when we thought we took care of the stormtroopers on Kamino."

"Ha ha." Aang laughed with a hint of sarcasm.

Erickson and Ephraim contacted Rye shortly after the Republic ships entered hyperspace after dealing with the remaining star destroyers. "Heeeey! We did it! We may have just prevented a war." Ephraim exclaimed.

Rye and Erickson chuckled, "Just maybe. You guys all okay?"

"Yeah, but we lost many men today."

"Well today, they will be remembered as heroes."

" _Then_ we need to get some rest. These past few weeks have been _**tough**_." Erickson said, rubbing his shoulders.

"Indeed, we will have our well-earned rest soon."

"But I see a cause to celebrate." Ephraim said.

"That's for the Republic to decide."

They all shared a laugh, before Rye finished, "The force is with us."

And they sped off to Coruscant.

 _In the wreckage of the warzone..._

 **(See the chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the mini comic to be seen here)**


	14. Chapter 14

Epilogue

Nighttime fell, and half of Coruscant was asleep; Jayko exited his TIE Fighter into the docking bay, where Erk was waiting for him. Grinning under the mask, Erk observed Jayko's tarnished armor and silently laughed.

Clapping, Erk said, "Well _**done**_ Jayko. You _knocked_ it out of the park. I didn't think even _you_ could fail at a lower level than me."

Jayko stopped by him and turned to stare, "I failed my mission, but completed yours at the same time." He said, holding up the holocron. "The joke's on you." Erk's eyes widened ever-so slightly.

"Well, now that we know neither of us can defeat these Jedi, it's time I take this matter into my own hands once again."

"Remind me how this will be any different."

"I'll have some friends alongside."

"Encouraging to hear. Now come, we have work to do."

 _ **THE END...**_

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED IN - YOUTH WARS PART III: THE NEW AGE**_  
 _ **(Part III is legit epic. It's my favorite work of mine so far.)**_

 _ **(But another prequel is ahead before that.)**_


End file.
